Many Hearts to Tread
by Sarakaroline8
Summary: Sherry was prepared to survive the living dead. She wasn't prepared for the heartache and messed up world that came when Negan came along.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Huge nod to Robert Kirkman for creating this amazing world that hopefully won't happen in the near future.

**Author's Note - This is about Sherry in the Walking Dead comic books. I may take some liberties (in fact, be prepared for a LOT of liberties) because the comic books has only really mentioned her a handful of times. So far, she is a very underrated character. So instead of wallowing and what I wish Robert Kirkman would do (he's a busy guy, after all), I went to fanfiction to fill the void. I hope you enjoy this. This will cross in between what has happened in the comic books but what was also happened in the show (so Daryl, Beth and whomever is not in the comics will appear in this fanfiction eventually).**

**In this first "novel," you will get to know Sherry. **_**My version **_**of Sherry. Forewarning! She could be very different from the comics, but how can you know because (personality wise) you don't really know much about her. So the world is my oyster on this one! There will be lots of Negan for those who love that sadistic character. If you love him, what the heck is the matter with you?**

**Here goes nothing. I hope you enjoy what I have to offer in TWD fanfiction universe. First time writing fanfiction. Again, here goes nothing.**

…

Chapter 1

Sherry looked at the fire that her Yolanda and Hannah made an hour ago. She huddled up to its warmth against the night air. After a long day of walking, she let herself become lost in the beauty of the flames. It allowed her time to think of life the way it was before. Before the dead roamed the earth.

It has been six months since she lost everything. She looked up from the fire to look at the others in her group. Each member has lost so much in so little time. Sherry missed cell phones the most. She still remembered calling her mom and in mid-sentence, the call disconnected. They didn't even get to say their last "I love you."

She replayed the last conversation she had with her parents in her head over and over again.

"_Sweetie. Everything will be fine. People are in a panic over here. We are heading to your mother's house in Michigan. We think we will be safe there." Her father, Vinny, said. "Once everything dies down, we will call you and come find you. Keep your phone battery charged. I heard that power is going out in a lot of places. I can't believe how fucked everything is right now."_

_Sherry smiled to herself as she started packing things in her car. "Papi, I'll be fine. A couple of my friends and I are going to be camping outside of Atlanta until everything clears up. We'll give it a couple of weeks and see how everything is doing. I'm sure by then there won't be a need to come find me." She closed the trunk of her car and started walking up to her dorm room._

"_Sher. I don't know how bad it is in Atlanta. But people aren't themselves at home. My and Benny had to board up the Moritz' place because they went insane. They ate their dog, honey. They kept on making strange noises. We tried to call the hospital to get an ambulance for them but we couldn't reach them. They were busy. I had to keep your Mom safe. So we boarded their house up with the Moritz' still in there. Like animals."_

_Sherry's last class that day was strange as well. More than half of her classmates were absent. The professor said that they all emailed complaining about a bad fever. The same fever that her friends had. She prayed that the virus wasn't with them. She didn't want to be camping alone._

"_Honey. This thing has me worried. Your mother and I are already in the car on our way to Michigan. I think everyone is having the same idea as us. We've been in the same spot for hours. Haven't we?"_

_She heard a muffled reply and concluded it was her mother in the driver's seat. Sherry usually didn't worry when it came to things. But when her dad was worried, it made her terrified. He was always the brave retired police officer. No one messed with Vincent Ciccone._

"_I have a bad feeling that this thing isn't going to be only a couple of weeks long, Sherry."_

_Sherry reached her dorm room door. The hallways were flooded with other girls in a panic trying to pack their things. Suddenly a loud noise came through the other side of the door. It repeated and then she heard scratching. A girl that lived on the other side of the hall ran up to Sherry and put her arm in between her and the door._

"_Hold on one second, Dad." She took the phone away from her ear and stared down the girl that blocked her from her room. "What the hell are you doing? This is my room."_

"_Trust me. You don't want to open that door. My roommate had a fever this morning and I woke up to her biting my arm! I haven't dared gone into my room since."_

"_She was biting your arm?" I asked in shock and then glanced at her other arm that looked bandaged up. There were deadly purple veins that she could see. "You need to get that thing checked. It looks bad."_

"_I have tried to call emergency services but no one is picking up! Listen, I don't know who you are but I strongly believe that your roommates have the same disease that mine has. Until a nurse checks on them, you're safer in this hallway."_

_The door continued to bang and scratch. Sherry looked into the eyes of the pleading girl. "Okay. I won't. I'm just going to sit right here until I can think of a new game plan."_

_The girl looked relieved and rushed to help others. Sherry leaned against the wall parallel to the banging door and fell to the floor. "You said the Moritz' ate their dog, Papi?"_

"_Yeah. What's going on, Sher?"_

"_A girl just told me that she woke up to her roommate eating her arm and she locked her roommate in their room. She stopped me from going into my dorm because there was banging and scratching on the other side."_

_She heard her father breathing slowly. He was thinking of a solution. "Baby doll, I need you to leave you dormitory right now. You are to get out of the city with or without your friends. But you are leaving right now."_

_Just then she heard screaming from the other side of the hallway followed by snarling. Girls started running her direction and one even tripped over Sherry to run away. Sherry started running along with the crowd and found herself safely outside. She heard multiple screams from around campus. Hell was starting to break lose._

"_Sweetheart. What is going on?" Her dad yelled multiple times over the phone._

"_Everyone is screaming and in a panic. The infected are snarling and chasing down others!" She reached her car and opened her door. Someone grabbed her shoulder behind her._

_Sherry screamed in the moment but it was two guys that were in her humanities class. She knew that they were both Japanese and their English was limited. They now stood before her and looked panicked. _

"_Take us to the airport?" The taller one asked._

"_Yeah. But I'm leaving right now. We can't get your things. I'm sorry." She said. She overheard her Dad yelling expletives._

"_We have what we need. We can go now." The shorter one said._

"_Good. Hop in." She jumped in the driver's seat as she turned on the ignition. Both of the men sat in the back. She put her Dad on speaker._

"_What the fuck is going on?!" He shouted as he voice broke._

"_I'm fine. We just got in the car." She said as she pulled out of the driveway._

"_Who's we?" His broken voice said. She could tell he was crying out of fear that minutes before Sherry was possibly dead. She felt bad that she didn't respond immediately after she screamed._

"_Two guys that are in my business class. They are from Japan. They asked me to take them to the airport."_

"_Sweetie, airplanes have been grounded. All airports are closed."_

_The men were quietly talking in Japanese until they overheard her Dad say this. They looked to each other in horror._

"_Sher, we need to preserve our phone batteries. I'm going to hand the phone to your mother so you get the chance to say goodbye."_

_Sherry swerved the car because of a dead body on the road. She couldn't believe the sights that she was seeing. And she hated how her Dad said the word "goodbye."_

"_Okay. Um..." Sherry silently shed her tears almost knowing this was the last time that she was going to say goodbye to her first hero in her life. "I love you, Dad. I'll see you in two weeks' time, k?"_

_There was a long pause. She could hear her father weep. Sherry couldn't recall ever hearing him cry. "I love you too, Sherry. You will always be my everything. You are the most important thing in the world to me. Please be safe, my love."_

_She openly wept not caring for what the men in the back of her car thought. She heard mumbling as the phone was being passed to her mom. "Sher, honey. It's your Momma."_

_The tears kept on pouring as she tried concentrating on the road. "Mom. You'll be safe. You are going to make it to Grandma's house and be okay. As long as you are far away from the city, you will be fine. You have Papi."_

"_But what about my little girl? It's killing me that I'm not going to know where you are or if you are still alive!" Her mother sobbed loudly letting all of her emotions take over. Sherry did the same._

"_I'll be okay. I don't have Papi with me. But he raised me to be smart. I'll survive this. Besides, we'll call soon, right?"_

_There was silence on the other line. She knew her mother just wanted to hear words of comfort so she decided to continue. "We are going to head towards the outskirts of town and wade everything out. We'll stay away from other people and keep low until we hear good news."_

_There was still no sound. Not even a weep. She looked at the screen and it read, "Service lost. Phone call dropped."_

Sherry blinked back tears and looked away from the fire. She didn't want to replay that memory in her head anymore. Yet she thought of it often. She wondered if she would ever see her parents again.

Takuya and Haruki were still alive and slept next to a tree. In the six months of being together, their English became better. They became good acquaintances as they fought to keep each other alive.

All of her group members but a man named Dwight were sleeping soundly. Dwight was sitting on a log taking first watch over their group. Sherry couldn't remember the last time that she slept soundly. She knew that in order to stay sharp, she would have to sleep sometime soon tonight. Yet after all the walking and running of the day, she didn't feel tired. Plus, she dreaded sleeping on the forest floor for yet another night. She stood from her crouched position and stretched her sore limbs.

Dwight looked at her quizzically as she started towards him.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"Do you blame me? I pray that we find a hotel that isn't overrun by walkers so I can finally sleep on a mattress." Sherry said.

"And before the world went to shit, I was praying that the Broncos would score a touchdown." Dwight said as he smirked at his little joke.

"Funny how our priorities change when we don't have football to worry about." She said.

"You don't strike me as the type that really worries about football in the first place." He said.

"What gave you that impression?" She said.

Dwight shrugged. "I don't really know. From what I know of you already, I guess. Which really isn't much. You aren't like the others who babble on and on about their old lives."

"It's just how they cope with life. For me, it's just easier to forget what life was like."

"How's that working for ya?" Dwight asked.

Sherry looked at him. His question was very sincere and his tenderness caught her off guard. Dwight was someone who disguised himself as a tough guy in this world. This was the first time that he sounded like his guard was down. He seemed vulnerable to her.

She never wavered eye contact from him. Sherry simply said, "It isn't. I still remember the happy days like they were yesterday."

He looked at the sleeping group and then scanned the forest. "For the sake of small talk, tell me about yourself."

She grimaced. "It's been a long day. I don't really want to go down memory lane right now."

Dwight looked at her and gazed past her in thought. He grinned and adjusted himself on the log. "How about this. I ask you a question and you give me a one word answer. That way it's just facts. Not that emotional shit. How does that sound?"

Sherry walked over to where her stuff was and retrieved her shotgun. She went back to the log and started to scout the shrubbery before her. "It sounds a lot better than sleeping."

He smiled triumphantly as he pursed his lips together. "Okay then. Where are you from? You don't sound like a Southern Belle."

This was a bad idea. They may have been just facts but these facts brought so many beautiful memories that were almost painful to think of now. "Chicago."

"Did you live there your whole life?"

"No."

"Where else have you lived?"

She made a swivel motion with her hand that gestured around them. "Georgia." Sherry tried to stifle a laugh at her own sense of humor that seemed to be dormant for six months.

Dwight laughed at the sudden funny bone that Sherry had. "Smart ass. Okay, if you could describe something that you find attractive in a guy in just one word, what word what that be?"

"Bearded."

Dwight gave her an incredulous look. "Bearded?"

"One worded answers, right?"

"Yes but—"

"Then did I stutter?" She asked jokingly.

He put his arm to present the whole group. "Take your pick, ma'am. In this world, no one really owns a razor anymore. You must be in heaven right now."

Sherry laughed. "Yeah. That's how I would describe my predicament."

"Were you always this beautiful?"

She looked up at him, surprised by his boldness. She turned to see if anyone heard that but they were all still sound asleep. Sherry wished that she didn't have her long brown hair in a ponytail at that moment. She wanted to hide behind it. It would be better if she could find a large boulder and crawl underneath it.

"Did I embarrass you?" He asked after an awkward amount of silence passed by.

"No. I just haven't really thought of myself attractive since everything happened."

"Why?"

"Oh, because it's been months since I wore lipstick or a nice black dress. You know, the girly stuff."

"You don't need those things, Sherry. You are just as attractive with combat boots and a shotgun."

She smiled. "Well thanks. On that note, I think I am going to try and sleep."

"You're done playing games with me?" He asked as she started to walk away.

"I was about to ask you the same question. Dwight. You are a bearded man and are attractive. I just have a rule against dating. So as nice as the flirtations are, it's not going to be anything more than that."

His smile immediately turned into a frown. "Why not?"

"Look around us. Until I know how to deal with our new reality, I don't really want to become attached to someone who could be dead tomorrow."

"Well, with that logic you just said that life is short. Don't you want to enjoy it as much as you can?"

Sherry thought about it. It has been a long time since she considered her life enjoyable. Only because she kept her distance from the group. The rest of the group formed bonds with each other and invited her to do the same. She only wished to contribute in any way she could and keep them safe. Her emotional attachments were kept to a minimum. It didn't keep the sadness away when a member of the group died but it made it easier had she gotten to know that particular member.

Just then she heard a noise in the distance. She wasn't hearing things because Dwight was on high alert as well. She raised her shotgun towards the woods and saw Dwight do the same from her peripherals. Another noise sounded directly behind them. They both turned to see a man. He was alive and looked well. He put both of his hands up in surrender. Dwight looked to Sherry and they both put their guns down in unison. Dwight motioned the man to come to sit next to him on the log. The man complied and rubbed his hands together.

This was one of the first times they have run into another living human being for almost a month. Other survivors were rare. They were fortunate to never run into men that were power hungry and greedy. But something about this man gave her chills. He was tall and very attractive. Although her gun wasn't raised anymore, her guard wasn't down. In fact, she wondered why Dwight was being so nonchalant about this encounter. They didn't really have people come up to their group in the middle of the night, so there weren't any guidelines to go over. She would change that in the morning so the group would know what kind of security measurements they would need to take in the future.

Sherry opened up a can of soup for the man that was now sitting on the log next to the fire with Dwight. She could feel his eyes on her. Maybe that's why she felt nervous. Maybe he was harmless. She was dying to know more information about him only to read him better.

"What's your name?" Dwight asked.

The man smiled at Dwight. "It's nice to talk to people again."

Dwight smiled and stuck his hand out and the man shook it. "You been alone long?"

"A very long time. I saw your bonfire and decided to make myself known." The man looked at Sherry. "I apologize for scaring you, ma'am."

Sherry smiled in his direction and poured the can of soup in a pot that sat next to the fire. The man seemed kind. But Sherry couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to run for the hills. "You didn't."

He smiled and it revealed his deep dimples from underneath his five o'clock shadow. "What's your name, sweetheart?" He said in his deep Southern accent.

"Sherry. I don't remember you saying your name though."

He looked down at his hands and turned to Dwight as if she didn't say anything. "How many people do you have here?" He asked him.

"We have twelve people. We have just been travelling from town to town since the outbreak began. Just trying to find a safe place to settle down."

"Can I join your group?"

Sherry looked up from her "kitchen" duties. "We don't know who you are. Unless we know more about you, then you can start walking in the other direction, sir."

The man looked at Sherry with amazement. "Tell it like it is, don't you?"

"We have a decent amount of people in our group. But that doesn't mean that we have been without trouble in the past six months. I would like to know that you are the right fit for this group before we let you in."

He stood up and moved closer to her. Her assessment of him was right. He towered over her. He had to be 6'4" at least. "You in charge?"

Sherry looked to Dwight who stood up as the man got closer to her. She also noticed his finger was on the trigger. "We all contribute. No one is in charge."

He put his hands up in surrender again. "Your group is awfully skittish." He said this in a chuckle.

Sherry made sure not to break eye contact with the man. "How many people are with you?" She asked.

He looked confused and almost guffawed at her accusation. She continued, "There were two noises before you entered our camp. They came from opposite directions. How many men do you have with you?"

The next moments almost felt like slow motion. The man grabbed Sherry's middle and turned her around. She tried to point her gun at him but felt a sharp object at her throat.

"Drop your weapon, sweetheart. I have the upper hand. Don't be stupid."

Men started coming out of the forest and poking their guns at the sleeping group. Screams started sounding from Sherry's people. Dwight held his gun and aimed it at the man. A half dozen men aimed their guns at him but he stood tall regardless.

Sherry kept her gun in her hands. It was her source of safety and she clung to her shotgun.

The man kept one arm around her waist while his other hand held the knife to her neck. "Your friend is right. You are a beautiful woman. I really would hate for you to be such a waste. If you put your gun down, I'll spare your life. Don't doubt me, missy. You wouldn't be the first woman that I had to put down because she was being stupid."

She kept her hold on the shotgun. She didn't care if she lived or died. She almost welcomed death with open arms.

"Okay. Obviously you don't value your life as much as I thought you did." The man swung their bodies around as he chanted "Eenie Meanie Miney Moe" to himself. The chant ended as he directly faced Hannah.

With his hand that held the knife he pointed with his index finger towards Hannah. "What about her life?"

Sherry immediately put down the shotgun. The man threw her onto the ground and she landed on her knees. He thrust his foot onto her back and forced her to lie on her stomach.

The man motioned to Hannah and glanced to his men. "Kill her."

"NO!" Sherry yelled. "I surrendered to save her life!"

The man grabbed her by the hair and started to pull her up. She screamed in pain as he forced her to her knees but never letting go of her hair. He crouched down and put his mouth to her ear. Tears started streaming down Sherry's face.

"You guys are coming with us." The man spat in a forced whisper. He stood up straight and surveyed the rest of the group. All of which were now on their knees. Including Hannah who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"You are all coming with us. Sherry is not your leader anymore. I am. Sherry also made a mistake. She didn't do as I asked the first time I asked her to do it." He walked over to Hannah who was shutting her eyes and silently muttering to herself. "On behalf of your old leader, I apologize ma'am." With that, he slit Hannah's throat with the same knife that would have killed Sherry just minutes ago.

Hannah fell to the forest floor dead. Sherry could hear the others in her group screaming. Especially Hannah's best friend, Yolanda. Sherry was enraged. She got up on her feet and stood in front of the man. She slapped him in the face and pushed him with all the adrenaline that was surging through her body.

Just then something hit the back of her head. The last thing she saw was the man grabbing her before she fell unconscious.

…

Sherry immediately started to cry when she woke up. She hoped that whatever hit her on the back of the head was fatal. She felt responsible for Hannah's death and did not wish to live with herself anymore. Why did she have to be so stubborn? She refused to open her eyes and just laid there in fetal position. She sobbed uncontrollably.

She became aware of her surroundings. Underneath her body, she felt a nice cushiony mattress. She opened her eyes and was amazed that she was in a bedroom. Her predictions were right as she was laying on a cozy bed. The room that she was in made her second guess where she was. Did she die and go to Heaven. It had been months since she saw a room so beautifully decorated. The furniture reminded her of walking through an Ikea showroom. Did she finally wake up from the nightmare and was somewhere safe inside a house. The same house where her Dad was watching Sports Center in the living room? And her Mom making dinner downstairs?

Her dreams fell to reality as she felt behind her head and noticed it was bandaged. The questions continued to swarm around her as she looked around the bedroom. Did her group escape the men that violated their bonfire that horrid night? Did Dwight carry her to safety and satisfy her dream of finding a hotel with a cozy mattress. The room was even lit. With electricity. It made her hopeful that they found a safe zone. She allowed herself to stay in bed. She felt safe for the first time. Or at least she admitted in falling for the illusion of safety. Regardless of the outcome, she decided to enjoy this time of peace whether it be a farce or not.

Just then Dwight opened the door. He carried a crossbow on one of his arms. A couple of months ago, he had to leave his crossbow behind when a herd of walkers came upon their group really sudden. There wasn't any time for getting belongings. That's where Sherry lost her phone and cried herself to sleep for weeks. It was her assurance that she would have been able to contact her parents one day. Now she wasn't sure how or if there would ever be an opportunity to do so.

"Hi." He said calmly. Something about him seemed on edge.

"Where are we?" She said as she sat up on full alert.

"We're at base. You've been out for nearly two days."

"Two days?" She groaned. She looked down and saw what she was wearing. A black tank top and spandex biker shorts.

"It was all I could find that looked comfortable to sleep in." He said shyly.

Her eyes became slivers as she tried to put what he said together. "Base? Whose camp is this? Who dressed me?"

Dwight straightened defensively. "Yolanda did. I didn't touch you!" He said, appalled that she would think that. "Sher, I didn't have a choice. They were going to leave everyone to die at our camp."

"Where are we?" She repeated sternly.

"We are with the men that came upon our group the other night."

She tried to stand up and ran awkwardly for the window in the bedroom. She pushed apart the drapes and opened the blinds. The bedroom was on the second floor of an older brick building. Outside it looked like an army camp. Guns just lied on the floor. Her people were nowhere to be found.

"Where is everyone?" She ran to go out the door but was stopped by Dwight.

"I'm sorry, Sherry. You can't leave this room. That was his orders."

"Dwight, what the hell is wrong with you? We have to leave."

"We can't." He pulled her away from his body and held her at arm's length to stare into her eyes. She held onto his forearms to steady herself. Her head felt light.

"Negan wants to talk to you." He said quietly.

"Is that the man who killed Hannah? You're taking orders from him now?" She could have slapped Dwight at that moment.

"Sherry! If you knew all of the details, you would have done everything he asked you to as well! Don't paint me to be the bad guy! I'm trying to keep everyone safe!" His fingers dug into her arms as he lectured her. He was desperate for her to understand him.

"What does he want from us? We have nothing to give him." She asked fearfully.

"It's not that easy to tell you." He looked down to the floor ashamed.

Seconds passed and he gazed at her with longing. "One day, I promise to make things better for you, Sherry. I promise. We are in a really shitty situation right now."

"Dwight?" She whispered. "Please tell me what that man wants from me."

"He wants you." He said in a tone that surprised her by the hardened disguise. "He said that if you don't comply with his every request, he will kill me and the rest of our group. He'll save you. You would have to live with that, Sherry. If I knew a way around this, I would try and get you out of it. You know I would. I am so sorry."

She let go of his arms and walked over to where the window was. She spotted Negan at the camp. It was as if he noticed his eyes on her the second she pointed him out among the men. He smiled at her and did the two finger wave and went back to his previous business.

"He knows I am not property to be owned, right?"

"I don't think he does, Sher. He's an interesting and terrifying man. He will go off the handle over the littlest things. I can't read him yet."

She paced the bedroom floor while Dwight watched her intently. She chewed on her bottom lip and thought to herself. Minutes later she looked up to Dwight.

"Where are our people now?"

"They are in another part of this building. He is holding them in a small room until you reach a decision."

"And if I said no, he was going to kill them like that?" She contemplated some more. "Why aren't you with the rest of our group?"

"Negan saw my value with a crossbow and thought I would make a helpful member to his group. However, he said I would die if you said no. I'm not that important, I guess."

"You couldn't have tried to help our group escape?"

"In a heavily guarded camp? I'm not fucking stupid. You might not see it right now, Sherry. But I'm just playing the cards that I'm dealt. The same way I hope you play your cards so we can eventually get out of this situation."

"What are you suggesting? You want me to be his little tramp?"

"Sherry. That is our only option. Give it time. Let him put his guard down around our group. It may take us awhile to get out of this dilemma but it's the only way."

"I can't believe this is happening to me." She sat on her bed and Dwight sat down next to her. Minutes passed as she thought of her circumstance. Their lives were not short of despair since the virus took over the world. But this seemed to top all of the tragedies that ensued six months ago. She thought of the members of her group. Among them were three young children. Even the ones that were not children. They were good people. They were innocent of the evils of this new world. They didn't deserve to die because she decided against being this man's bitch. Regardless of her answer, she would still reach the same outcome. Except without her group. Their blood would be on her hands. "There isn't a way around this?"

He looked at her and she looked at him. "I'm sorry. There is no other way."

She raised her chin up and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "I'll do it."

He put one arm around her and kissed her forehead. "I wish I could have provided for you, Sherry. I wish this was a better world for us to live in."

She looked at him and kissed him on the lips. He immediately fell into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. A part of her was attracted to him. She didn't know when she was ever going to receive another tender human reaction like this. She savored the moment thinking it was going to be one of the last sweet moments of her life. The kiss slowed and he broke away but still held the small of her back with his hand

"You and I both, Dwight."

…

She stayed in her room on her bed until the sun went down. Her head ached with too many thoughts running through her head. As much as she wanted a way out of this. There wasn't.

Sherry was always the de facto leader and protector of the group. Her quick decision making and thinking led her group to safety. _I never let my people down before, _she thought to herself.

_Six months max. His guard will be down and our people will go free. I'll slit his throat like he slit Hannah's. Eye for an eye. _Sherry felt guilty for relishing in someone's death. But this wasn't a normal man. He was a murderer. Negan (as Dwight called him) was a killer. He reveled in showing off his power to the ones who couldn't physically stop him. _One day._

Sherry thought of Negan's men. Dwight told her his plan on becoming Negan's right hand man. Once Negan was dead, then his men would listen to Dwight. It was more manpower for their group even though Sherry didn't fully trust them yet. She didn't think she ever would.

Even though none of her people besides Dwight asked her to do this, she would do it anyway. She had nothing else to live for except to keep those guiltless people safe from those maniacs. It wasn't just obligation that drove her to saving their lives. She knew it was something that her father would have done for anyone in need. Since the world went to shit, she strived to be what her father would have been proud of. As heartbreaking as the crisis was that befell her, she knew her dad would see her reasons as being honorable.

She heard someone walking towards her bedroom from the hallway. She stood and opened the door. Sherry saw Negan with a fist about to hit the door that was no longer there. He smiled at the humor in the situation but it made Sherry want to puke. She gave him a small smile to not give him that impression.

He walked slowly into the room and eyed every part of her body. She folded her arms over her chest in response. She wasn't going to lie to herself. He was extremely attractive and charming. But the actions he partook of a couple of nights before tainted her view of him forever.

"Dwight tells me that you came to a decision."

"I did. But I would like to know whatever you want me to do. Whatever it is, I agree to it. I don't really have a choice. But I still would like to know."

He looked around the room and chuckled. He nodded towards the bed and sat down. She followed suit and sat several feet away. He scooted closer and greatly minimized the distance between them as he stroked the hair that rested on her back. "This is a proposal, ma'am. You are to become Mrs. Negan. In every aspect. Cook me dinner, share my bed, clean my house, do as I say, etc. In exchange, your group will be safe and will live here at the camp. They will have to pull their own weight. If they don't, my rules will override whatever deal we have between us. The men will be armed and trained to be in my army. The women will do laundry and other shit that women do to make our jobs easier. I'm sorry I am not down on one knee to make this more romantic but I personal don't give a fuck about that shit." He clapped his hands together and made Sherry jump.

"You want me to be your wife?" Sherry asked quietly as she looked into his eyes.

"Yes, ma'am. Look at you. I can't wait for our time together." He winked at her.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head. She despised this man.

As if he read her thoughts he took both of her hands in his and put them to his chest. "Sherry. If you love me and take care of me, I will treat you like a queen. That's all I ask." He raised one of her hands to his face.

"If I do this, I don't want to know about the terrible things you do outside…or even inside the camp. It'll make my job easier if I can at least pretend that you are a good man."

"Deal. Any other requests?" His demeanor changed in that instant. He looked at her admirably. As if their situation didn't resemble dangerously close to human trafficking. He was able to pretend just as much as she was going to.

"No. Let's just move on from this. Can I talk to my people? Let them know what is going to happen from here on out? It's a way for me to let them know that I'm okay with this too."

Negan put his hands on both sides of her jaw and kissed her quickly and fiercely. She didn't expect the passion that came from behind the kiss. It made her hate him more.

He gestured for the door. "After you, my lady."

…

**Author's Note - Well, there you have it. If you are unaware of the comic books and have no idea who these characters are in the Walking Dead comics, look them up. One day, Negan will make his presence in the show. I'm excited for it but at the same time fearful. He is EVIL! If you do read the comics, you know that Dwight and Sherry are married. I tweaked that fact and instead they might and Dwight gained an attraction towards Sherry during the time they had together with their little group. I hope to grow as a writer as this story goes on. Let me know in the reviews how I did! I would love feedback!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer – Robert Kirkman is the genius behind these characters. Not myself. Some are of my own thoughts (particularly Sherry & Dwight's group). But everyone else is from his awesome mind.**

**Author's Note – I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my fanfiction. I feel so pumped about it that I can't stop writing! Yay!**

**Another Author's Note – So if you guys look up the album Dark was the Night by various folk artists, that is my inspiration for the feel of this fanfiction. It has an ominous tone to it but the melody carries a hopeful tune within the darkness. Which I think signifies Sherry as she tries to dance around the predicament that she sees herself in. Like everyone else, she wants to survive. She sees the value and worth of every living soul. Especially her previous group members who she thinks deserve a life and a protector to keep that hope. Of which she sacrifices herself for both. Sherry is awesome and selfless. I hope the readers see that.**

…

Chapter 2

Negan and Sherry walked next to each through a hallway that seemed endless. Sherry assumed that the building that they were in used to be a court house. They passed forgotten signs that suggested business of jury duty, marriage licenses and the DMV. Sherry missed the petty and trivial things of the life before. She would gladly take hours of jury duty than being where she was right now.

Negan looked like he woke up on Christmas day. Sherry prayed that being with him would be better than her first impression of him. Luck wouldn't help her now. Only an act of God.

Sherry's family wasn't particularly religious before the outbreak. However, she found herself praying a lot more now than she ever did in her before. She found it odd when she put the comparison together one night while sitting next to the fire a couple of weeks back. _Odd how in times of a calamity, people either become more religious or more atheist. Have I become a Christian in a sense? I have prayed and felt something…or rather, someone listening to me. It could have been my imagination. The dire need to feel comfort could have been it. Yet it was something so calming and peaceful in a world where I hardly felt like that anymore. Whether it be the want of someone listening to my pleas or someone actually listening, I choose the latter. It gives me solace in a world that couldn't provide me the same feeling. Plus, it gives me comfort to entertain the idea of an afterlife. I will cling to the idea of seeing my parents again. _

Sherry didn't have these thoughts before. She didn't care to think about it before. She thought of them more now only because months before, she swore the world was going to end. Sherry looked for peace in her last moments. Yet she was still here. Standing next to a man whom she predicted never pondered the questions she had.

_Oh God, _she thought to herself. _Keep me strong. _She wasn't naïve to pray for safety from the man. She knew God didn't have the power to control people's actions. But she knew He had the power to keep her going. For her people.

After a maze of hallways, they made their way to a door of which Negan opened. It led to a basement and he gestured for her to walk down first.

She saw her group handcuffed and huddled in a corner guarded by five guards. Including Dwight.

Sherry knew that acting would be the most difficult thing she has ever done. She resented Negan more than anyone in the world. Yet he would be her "husband." Sherry thought of the advertisements in the 1950's that would show it being customary and even traditional to spank your wife if she didn't obey her husband's commands. Not only was that the norm, but Sherry couldn't believe that these women willingly went into a relationship to slave away for them. And here she was. At least it was for a noble cause.

The room was dimly lit with candles and she could hear the three children in their group trying to sob as quietly as they could. They were obviously terrified after the incident with Hannah. But when Sherry got closer to her group, she could see her group had bruises on their faces.

She immediately glared at Dwight who looked conscience-stricken.

"You let this happen to them?"

"Sherry—"Negan started.

"No! We had a bargain! I agreed to be with you as long as no harm would come to my people! How do I know that your word means more than just shit?" She went toe to toe with him and arched her neck to meet his eyes.

"Honey. We just made the agreement. No harm will come to them now." Negan said calmly.

She breathed in and out slowly trying to get her temper under control. "Okay."

Negan smiled then leaned down to whisper in her ear. "But if you ever raise your voice to me like that ever again, you are going to be the one to pay. I fucking promise you that."

Sherry looked to her group again then spent the rest of the time staring at the ground. Negan went over the guidelines to their community. All would have their own homes but if they chose to bunk with each other accordingly, they could. All of them agreed to be under the same roof. Negan may have their choice to live together as being hospitable to his people but Sherry knew that they were bunking together for their own safety. They didn't trust his people enough to be scattered about.

"What about Sherry? Will she live with us?" Dean asked. Sherry felt sorry for Dean. He was growing close to Hannah. The group was even rooting for them to enter a deeper relationship. There was so much sadness in the world that it was nice to see them happiness. It probably took them a long time to enter something romantic because they both had partners before the apocalypse. Hannah's husband died. And Dean's wife of 45 years was in Napa where he was from. Dean happened to be travelling cross country by motorcycle with some friends to celebrate his retirement. He didn't know whether his wife was alive or dead but everyone knew that the likelihood of her survival was slim.

"Sherry is not your concern anymore." Negan replied. "She's mine. This was why we wanted to talk to you guys. Introduce you all what is happening here. You will all be trained and armed. Even the kids. You will learn to be valuable members of the community. In exchange for your safety from the world out there."

"Are we prisoners?" Jason asked. He was lucky in Sherry's eyes. His wife, Terri, and their sons, Teegan & Troy, were among their little group. Maybe the only family that was hardly affected by the walkers. Sherry ached for what they had.

Negan grinned maniacally as he stared at the ground. "What gave you that impression?"

"Sir. You don't leave much of any other option. What if I said that my family and I wished to take our chances out there? I feel like we would be stopped within miles of this place and brought back here or worse."

"Then I guess you shouldn't take that chance then." Negan said with a straight face. There was a mixture of humor in his eyes. But there was a sliver of something else that made Sherry's stomach turn. She also saw malice.

Jason looked to his wife with an apologetic yet hopeful smile. She returned it. With their eyes looking hopeful, they were still in a very dismal situation.

Negan gave them the rest of the protocol and signaled for the guards to unbind them all. They all were shuffled upstairs as Negan and Sherry followed behind them.

They all made it out to the courtyard and Sherry finally breathed in some fresh air compared to how stifling it felt in the court house. Sherry looked to the left and saw some homes.

"You weren't kidding." She said.

"About what?" Negan inquired.

"About the houses. Are they safe enough? A herd hasn't come to this place yet? Do you have gates?"

He chuckled and grabbed for her hand as they headed in the opposite direction from her group. She turned to look at them and made eye contact with Dwight. He didn't break their gaze. Instead he gave her a look that made the atmosphere seem warm and comforting. She wished that they were heading the same direction as her group. Better yet, she wished that she was the only one going the same direction.

"I'll answer all of your questions. They are safe. We call this place Sanctuary. We call our group the Saviors. This is the safest place in this fuckin' hell hole. Plenty of herds have come our direction but it's nothing that we can't handle. We do have a gate. I'll show you in the morning."

….

They didn't have to walk far. Negan's home was close. It was an older Victorian house a block away from the court house. It had a sign about the history of the town that used to be here. From the looks of it, it appeared that the town remodeled the house to be a museum. But now it was Negan's. The history of the town that read somewhere in the house was now forgotten. No one even cared about it anymore.

Negan tugged on her arm to get her moving. Now she moved with a little apprehension. But she didn't stop.

"Negan. What's gonna happen when we get into that house?"

He smiled innocently. "I know what you are thinking. And honestly, it's been a long day. I'm tired. No screwing around tonight."

She wore a disgusted look on her face. "I wouldn't have wanted to even if you wanted to."

His smiled instantly vanished. "What are you insinuating? Did you think I wouldn't let you have a choice in the matter?"

Sherry didn't let her eyes wane from his as she tried to make her words sound very cutting. "You know I should have every right to think that. So far, you haven't given me options. No choices in the matter. Why would I think this situation be any different?"

Negan bit his bottom lip and scanned the _sanctuary. _"Contrary to your belief about our group is that we have a code that we live by to keep some order."

Sherry took a step closer to him. "Yeah? Who wrote this code? You?"

Negan stared her down. "I would think twice before you take that tone with me."

Sherry was exhausted. Mentally and physically. But in a previous life, she had a father that would want her to fight with every bone in her body before she waved the white flag. She would play his little housewife if it meant that would keep her people alive. But she didn't want to be broken. Not yet.

"I apologize for being brash but if my people are going to be a part of your people, we need to know how exactly we are to live by your rules."

"I said most of the rules in the basement."

"Yeah the basic rules. I'm talking about the rules you have to tell the people that aren't good people."

"You don't look old enough to have been a cop. Were you?"

"No." She said curtly.

He smiled again. "Over time, you will get to know all of our rules. I suspect that you'll be with us for a while."

"You know that answer more than I do." She said sarcastically.

"You are one smart ass. You don't always have to fight me on everything, ya know." He said as he sat down on the white picket fence behind him.

"I just don't like being in control."

"Sherry? I would like the thing that we have between us to be a slice of heaven compared to this world. I'm willing to offer you peace of mind."

"And I am not going to lie. It sounds great. But as your wife, if I say no. I mean it. If I'm not ready for that part of our relationship to open up, it stays closed. Got it? I'll be your wife. I won't be your little bitch."

"I got it. I won't even think it."

Just then, a group of Negan's followers walked on the sidewalk next to his house. All of them started chanting Negan when they walked past. Once they were a good distance away they went on about their business like nothing happened.

"What the hell was that?" Sherry asked.

"I'm the man in charge. They know it."

"So you weren't elected. You just took that title."

"I earned it like every other dictator before me has."

"Well at least you know to put yourself in that category."

He laughed. "I wasn't lying when I said that I would treat you like a queen. In our Sanctuary, you will be."

"I'm not anyone's queen. The second that we have the chance to get out of here, we are going to take it. And we'll be far away from here."

Negan looked at her and stretched. He grabbed her by the forearm and guided her into the house. "Bed time, honey. For the first couple of weeks—or months depending on how you are, you are to be in another room and handcuffed. By morning, you'll be given a list of all the things you need to get done for the day. You will have several escorts that will take of you while I do my business. Got it?" The last words he said in a mocking tone as he guided her up the stairs and into a room on the right of the staircase.

Inside the room was a bedroom decorated with quilts. There was a bed with a metal headboard. He patted the mattress to get her to sit on it. "Until you trust me, I can't trust you. Sorry, Sherry. I know we got off on the wrong foot. And I'll do whatever it takes to make that better. For us. But I don't trust you right now to sleep in my house. I truly am sorry, honey."

His eyes were almost pleading. Not for her to get on the bed but for her approval of their situation. She was his reluctant muse. Regardless of whether she chose him, he already chose her. It made her heart hurt to see him look so vulnerable. In a way, she understood him at that moment. The idea of him having a wife wasn't for a façade for his people wasn't the reason he chose her either. He chose her to have his own slice of heaven for his own sanity and comfort in this world. _If only he chose to be a better person, I would fall for it._

He lifted her forearm and stroked his fingers up and down. He looked peaceful as he concentrated her hand. "Honey, will you please do this for me? I need you to comply with this."

"Okay." He smiled. She sat down as he pulled handcuffs from his back pocket. He put one cuff on the metal bedframe as she lied down and then put the other cuff around her wrist.

"Why did you have to ask for my permission?"

He looked to see if the handcuffs were secure and hovered his fingers over hers. "I don't know." With that, he walked away. He stopped and stood at the doorway.

"Sherry. I want to give our marriage a shot. With all of my heart, I want what we have to be a happy one. Maybe it was this world that had me go about things the wrong way at first. I just don't know how to be normal anymore. I hope that with something in my life to look forward to at the end of the day will keep me sane throughout however long it takes for all of this to be over. I really do apologize for everything I have put you through already. I hope to convey to you that I don't want to hurt you like that again. Do you believe me?" He said as he looked over his shoulder towards her.

"I want to believe you, Negan. I hope with time, that I will."

His smile looked distant as he looked at the hallway. "Goodnight, honey." He closed the door.

In the pitch of black she smiled sadly. "Goodnight." She returned.

….

_Sherry just kept on driving until she hit the outskirts of Atlanta. It was there that she was stuck in traffic with Haruki and Takuya._

"_What do we do now?" Haruki asked in broken English._

_Sherry tapped the steering wheel with her thumb as she contemplated their next step. "The airport is out of the question. I'm not sending you guys to a dead end. You guys know that the airport just isn't an option anymore right?"_

"_Yes." Takuya said sadly. For the while that it took to drive until they hit traffic, they guys hit every emotional road block possible. At one point, Haruki was yelling and sobbing at Sherry to turn the car around when they passed the exit for the airport. Takuya calmed him down as he too was sobbing in hysterics._

_Time passed as they all thought what to do next. "My dad suggested that I lay low somewhere in the outskirts of Atlanta. And by outskirts, I mean some place where no one lives. Maybe an unpopulated forest. I don't know. Something that won't attract whatever is going on with everyone."_

_Several minutes passed as the men thought amongst themselves, caught up in their own thoughts. "We choose to stay with you."_

_Haruki nodded in agreement. Sherry was surprised at their willingness of her plan. "Okay. But guys, I really don't think that this plague is going to let up anytime soon. We could be in the woods for a very long time. We need to learn to be independent while out there. We'll buy stuff at this Target up here for the first few weeks but then we have to live off the land. I'll teach you how to hunt and build fires and whatever will be necessary. Okay?"_

_Haruki spoke up. "I have never hunted before. I'm a vegetarian."_

"_I'm sure we can find some nice plants for a salad for you then." Sherry said sarcastically. "Do you guys know how to use a gun?"_

"_I don't believe in guns." Haruki complained._

"_I don't either." Takuya said._

_Sherry rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. I'm not going to be your body guards for God knows how long. To defend yourselves, you either learn how to shoot a fucking gun or you'll be dead meat by week's end."_

_The looked at her with wide eyes. _

"_I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out."_

_After several hours of silence, they were still in the same spot in traffic. Long ago, Sherry turned off the car to preserve her gas tank. Others did the same and started walking around and mingling with others in the cars around them. From her car, she could see the skyline of Atlanta. On the radio, she could hear a message playing over and over again about a safe zone in Atlanta. She wanted it to be true. But she knew to stay clear of people until further notice of a cure or whatever came first. Her dad wanted her away from the city. So she listened. _

"_Maybe we should go to the safe zone." Haruki said. _

"_You guys go. My car and I are not going anywhere near that city."_

_They were silent again and then started discussing what to do in Japanese. She could tell they were unhappy with her by the way they were talking but she didn't care._

_Someone knocked on her window. It was an older man with a leather jacket. He bent down to see her as she opened her door. _

"_I'm sorry to bother you, but do you happen to have water with you? There is a guy over there that's heating up really fast. He doesn't look so good."_

"_I'm sorry. I don't. I'll help you find some though."_

"_Much obliged. My name is Dean, by the way."_

"_I'm Sherry." They shook hands as they went door to door trying to find water. When they found water, Dean guided her to the man with the fever._

"_Do you think that he is infected?"_

"_Oh yeah. He's trying to hide something on his shoulder. I think he got bit by one of those things."_

"_What the hell is going on?"_

"_I have no idea. I have never seen anything like this. People are coming back to life."_

_Sherry stopped in her tracks. "Coming back to life?"_

"_Yeah but they aren't what they used to be? It's like something out of the Exorcist. It's like they're possessed. Gnawing and growling at people. I tried to help someone earlier today and ask where she lived. She didn't answer. She only starting hissing at me and chased me down the street. Definitely some weird stuff." He said as he started walking again. Sherry followed._

"_You said he was hiding something on his shoulder. Are you saying that you get infected by being bit by whatever it was you saw?"_

"_That's only my theory."_

"_Again, what the hell is going on?"_

_Dean looked around him at all the people almost contemplating that almost all would be dead soon. It made Sherry feel sick. "Should we bring this water to him?"_

"_I don't want to anymore." She paused for a second. "But it's the right thing to do. At least make him comfortable while he's still around."_

_They gave him the water at a safe distance by handing the water bottle to a family member. "Where are you guys headed?" Dean asked Sherry._

_She shrugged and let out an uneven sigh. "We have no idea. I was going to take these guys to the airport before my dad told me that all airports were grounded indefinitely. My original plan was to camp with my friends and wade this all out until things calmed down. I have this sinking feeling like that isn't going to happen soon."_

"_You should stick with the camp idea. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to come with you guys. We could get several others that are interested in the idea. Get some sort of community going while we wait for the storm to pass. What do you think?"_

_Sherry looked to this one family camping outside their car. Two little children with two women. One with long brown hair and another with almost no hair at all. The one with no hair looked disoriented. But not like the others. She looked like she wore that face even before this even happened. Almost like her world ended long before any of this. It didn't take long to realize what caused it as her husband or boyfriend barked at her for one reason or another. Sherry had half a mind to go over there and bark at him for the woman. But the look in the little girl's eyes stopped her. Sherry and the little girl then made eye contact. Sherry knew that this interaction was the norm as the little girl gave her an apologetic look because of the scene the man was making. The little boy looked on in shock as did the other woman. Their shock immediately was distracted when a man came and started a conversation with them._

_Sherry liked the idea of grouping with others but she knew from stories her dad told her when he was on the police force. "Don't trust anyone." He told her. She wanted to trust Dean, Haruki and Takuya. But she didn't want to be stuck in a corner either. _

"_It's an idea. I'll take anything over no—, " Sherry was stopped by some screaming up ahead followed by more screams and cries. Someone was running their direction and nearly pummeled into Dean head on._

"_What the hell?" Dean said._

_More people ran their direction. Sherry took the liberty of climbing onto a nearby car to see the commotion. People ran as others that were much slower crept up to them and surrounded the people in their cars. They were clawing and gnarling at the terrified people. Is this the same disease that took her parents neighbors? The ones that they caught up with, they were biting at them and successfully tore away at flesh. Sherry couldn't believe her eyes._

_They ran towards Sherry's car as she banged on the windows._

"_GET OUT!"_

_The startled men immediately got out with their things as Sherry grabbed for her backpack in the front seat. Someone grabbed both of her shoulders from behind and before she knew it, she was pushed to the ground. When she looked up she saw Dean above her as blood spattered everywhere. Whoever grabbed her from behind was lying right next to her. They were already cold. Long before Dean smashed their heads in with the butt of a gun._

"_Where the hell did you get the gun, Dean?" She shrieked. After everything that happened in the last five seconds she wondered where in the world he got that._

_He put his hand forward as she took it to stand up. They immediately started running as Haruki and Takuya followed. They had no destination in mind except for away from the "biters." And from the city._

…

Sherry woke up from the sunlight that peaked through the closed blinds. She was sweating as she tried to kick the blankets off of her. Immediately she was on alert as she remembered where she was. She jolted up and tried to get off the bed only to be shoved back surprisingly as she fell to the ground near the bed. She looked to her hand that was handcuffed to the metal bedframe. Her skin looking immediately irritated from being nearly ripped from her clumsiness.

"Good morning." Someone said behind her. She jumped looking directly at the source.

Yolanda was sitting in a rocking chair but stood up with a key in her hand.

Tears spilled from Sherry's eyes as she was grateful it was a member of her group. Yolanda fiddled with the key but when Sherry's hand was free, she all but threw her arms around Yolanda.

"I'm so glad you are okay, Yolanda!" Sherry exclaimed. She broke the hug and looked at the woman straight in the eye. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Yes, yes! Everyone is fine, honey!" Yolanda smiled but frowned at the sight of Sherry. "We were wondering if you were okay."

"I'm okay. How are you here?"

"Negan sent for me. I am supposed to be your help around the house while you get settled. The house is guarded at every door. I think we are stuck in here."

Sherry thought about this. "Well at least it's someone that I know that's in here with me."

"Did he try anything with you last night?" Yolanda asked hesitantly.

"No! I slept in my own bed. He was actually nice."

Yolanda was silent as Sherry could see her trying to form the words in her mind.

"The group and I wanted to let you know that we don't want you to bend over backwards to try and keep us alive. We could all try and escape out of here in the middle of the night. We don't need his protection."

Sherry looked at the window and walked over to it. When she opened the blinds she could see the Sanctuary more clearly than the last time she looked out the window at the courtyard. It did still look like a military zone. That part didn't change.

"Yolanda. There is no way we can escape here. Look outside. There has to be multiple lookouts. We'd never get far enough away from this place."

Yolanda looked down sadly as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "There must be something that we can do."

"There is. Give everything time. We have to earn the trust of these sons of bitches and then we'll have the upper hand once we take over. Right under their noses."

"Whose plan was this? Yours?"

"Dwight's. He's already in their little militia playing his cards right. I play mine and we have a chance of getting out of this, Yolanda."

"That must have been difficult for Dwight to tell you."

Sherry looked to Yolanda questioningly.

"Oh c'mon, Sherry. That boy loves you. He doesn't want you anywhere near that awful man."

Sherry could feel the sadness creep over her. "I rejected him the night Negan's men came on our group. He doesn't want me anymore."

Yolanda stood and walked over to her. "Ever since you were hit that night, Dwight has become a different man. He nearly killed Negan that night but he spared him because he wanted Dwight in his group. Since then, Dwight looks like he wants to break Negan's neck still but holds back. To protect you. He isn't the same man cracking jokes with a smile on his face. He always looks distant. If it were anyone else in the group, he wouldn't be having this hard of time."

Sherry looked out the window and scanned the men's faces. "He's downstairs guarding the door." Yolanda said as if reading her mind.

Sherry bolted to the door and down the stairs. She saw two shoulders on either side of the front door and opened it. The men both looked but none of them were Dwight.

"Sherry?" She heard behind her. Immediately warmth rushed throughout her whole body.

She turned and Dwight was standing near the back door. She filled the distance between them as she ran to him with her arms open. She crashed into him. He didn't immediately return the gesture but several seconds later he wrapped his arms around her softly and laid his cheek on top of her head.

"I won't be here long. Negan doesn't want me here when you are awake." Dwight said as they broke apart.

"Why?" Sherry could have cried by hearing that.

"I'll tell you later. Sherry I can't be here right now. It's not safe for either of us but I just wanted to let you know that I am so sorry I put you in this situation. It's just the only way I see us getting out of here." He whispered this in hushed tones.

"I know. You are trying to keep us safe."

Dwight reached for her hand and she felt a folded piece of paper touch her fingers. He let go of her hand as her own fingers encircled the piece of paper. With that, he left without a word.

She looked down at the folded piece of paper. It was still warm from Dwight's touch. She ran into the bedroom as Yolanda followed. She shut the door and opened the letter as fast as she could.

_Sher,_

_In the mornings, I'll give you an update like this letter. I hope you update me as well. This is how we know when to strike at Negan. _

_On my side, I am trying to gain Negan's favor among his men. I want to be an important asset to his team. Every night, Negan and his men go to the bar in the Sanctuary and play billiards and ping pong. He loves both and he's very good at them. My goal is to be invited to this men's night out. Gain favor with everyone and not just him. So when we take over, we can have the men look to us instead of be against us._

_I know things just started on your side but it will be easier for you to earn his trust. You are his wife after all._

_Sherry. I know it's bold of me to say and that you didn't want part in a relationship but I just wanted to let you know that I think of you almost every minute of the day. You are what drives me to do the things I do nowadays. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. And if he ever lays a hand on you in an unfavorable way, please let me know as soon as possible._

_Sincerely yours, Dwight_

…

**Author's Note – And I leave with that. I apologize that it took so long for me to complete Chapter Two but October is a very busy month for me. I have a great job working at a haunted corn maze! It's exhausting so when I usually have time to write, I instead crash on my mattress.**

**If interested, I have made a list of actors that I could see play these characters. I didn't think of an actress for Sherry only because when I write or read a novel, I tend to put myself in the shoes of the main heroine and I can only picture myself. In a way, Sherry is me. Only because the graphic novel doesn't give her much of a personality at all. So I write her in a way that I would see myself in her situation.**

**I could see Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan. I am still crossing my fingers that when Negan finally makes an appearance on TWD, they choose this actor. If you haven't seen him in Watchmen as the Comedian, I suggest you do. He would play him perfectly.**

**For Dwight, I chose an actor who usually plays characters that we love. I know some might not think of him as the right fit for a show of this caliber but I think if given the chance, he would try his best to nail Dwight's character. The actor is Zachary Levi from Chuck. Sure, we have seen his very nerdy side in Chuck but he had moments of bad ass-ness in Chuck as a super spy. After all, every actor strives to be versatile. And Dwight's character would be very different from Chuck Bartowski.**

**Yolanda would be Adriana Barraza from various movies. Most popular from Drag Me to Hell.**

**Dean would be Brent Spiner from Star Trek: the Next Generation.**

**That's only if you are interested. If you have your own interpretations as to whom you see fills in the shoes better, by all means use them instead.**

**I hope you enjoyed it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Robert Kirkman is responsible for the Walking Dead Universe. I am just a spectator and huge fan that created a little room in his demented world. But all should bow in his presence.**

**Author's Note – Just to let y'all know, I am writing Chapter Three immediately after I just posted Chapter Two. I am on a roll!**

…

Chapter Three

Yolanda was given a list of things that Negan expected Sherry to do throughout the day. It was almost like going back to school and almost everything was written down by the hour. Both Yolanda and Sherry were given breakfast by an older woman. Eggs and homemade bread. They ate on the front porch that wrapped around to the backyard.

When Sherry first spoke with Negan about their arrangement, he made it seem like she was going to be a slave. He also said she would be treated like a queen. There were other civilians in the Sanctuary other than Sherry's group. Little children gawked at her as they walked by Negan's home.

Yolanda then prepared a bath for her as per the instructions. Sherry was given alone time as she waded in the warm water. She only sat in the bathtub for no longer than ten minutes. She felt antsy just sitting there. It had been a long time since she sat in relaxation. She wrapped a towel around her middle and walked to her bedroom. There were a pair of brown pants and a flannel button up purple shirt. She put them on and headed downstairs to ask Yolanda what was next on their stupid agenda only to see Negan sitting in the front room waiting for her.

"You look lovely, my dear."

She looked down at her new clothes awkwardly. "Thanks."

"The guards up front told me that you were finished with your bath. I wanted to show you myself what we'll be doing next for the day."

For the first time the whole day, she felt uncomfortable. It was no coincidence that she started feeling this way around him. "What are we doing then?"

"We're going to go for a walk. Then I'm going to teach you how to fire a weapon. I want to make sure you have the proper training."

"I know how to use a gun. My dad taught me years ago." Sherry responded proudly.

He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

It would take a while for her to be at ease with him as much as he was at ease with her. She wondered if she would ever feel relief when she saw him instead of pain.

They walked out the front door as the guards at the door followed. Without even thinking, she started to try and find Dwight's face among the members. There was no sign of him.

"Where is my group?" She asked as nonchalantly as possible. She was constantly nervous for their well-being.

"They are out and about doing things that contribute to the group. Not causing a lick of trouble like some other newcomers have." Negan said as a matter-of-factly.

"Probably because they are too scared of you."

Negan stopped and pondered this thought. "Good." He said shortly. "That's how I wanted it to be."

Sherry didn't say anymore. Dwight was right. He wasn't easy to read. So far, she has seen his bad side. Someone who she wished she had never seen. Because the good side of Negan wanted to be friends with everyone. However, the friendship was a one way street. There was only room to please Negan. Negan didn't care to please his "friends."

Sherry almost put Negan's comparison to that of a dog and his owner. Negan's followers were fiercely loyal because he trained them to be. But even that relationship had love in it. Sherry wasn't even sure that Negan could feel love.

A part of her wanted to tame the beast in him. But that would involve liking him. And she wasn't there yet. She didn't care to gain his affections that way. Yet she somewhat had to. Only to have her group eventually go free. The thought gave her a headache. _Why does life have to be so complicated?_

They finally made it to a basement of the police station. Negan guided her downstairs and many of her group members were there with members of Negan's militia. There was no sign of Dwight unfortunately. Negan instructed her to put on some hearing protection before they entered the shooting range.

Once the door opened to the shooting range, everyone stopped firing their weapons. The second the door closed, weapons fired. Sherry was grateful for the ear plugs.

"This is the reason why we chose to live in this town over every other town." Negan yelled right next to her. "This police station had a shooting range that is completely sound proof. Very unique for a small town. We lucked out! But this way, we can practice without having a herd head our way."

"But aren't you guys worried of running out of ammunition?" Sherry shouted over the sudden blasts from firearms.

He chuckled. "Oh we have enough ammo for years! Poor motherfuckers that we stole them from were a little shorthanded. Most of our stuff came from that army camp. Not the only army camp we came across." He grabbed for an AR-15. "Let's try this one first, sweetheart. The recoil isn't bad so you won't get a bad bruise on your shoulder."

"Reminder: This is not the first time shot a gun before. Let alone an assault rifle." Sherry grabbed the gun from Negan's grasp and walked to an available lane. Sherry checked to see if the rifle was loaded and the safety was off and adjusted the gun's width for her short arms. When she saw everything was ready, she finally saw the targets.

Walker heads lined the back wall on metal shelves. Dozens wouldn't describe the sight. Try hundreds of walker heads.

"Right in between the eyes, sweetheart." Negan said as he set up his gun in the lane next to her. "Anything else doesn't count."

She held the gun and saw the walkers in her sight. She pushed down on the trigger and her first shot hit a walker square in the eye. She then had her eyes set on the walker head next to the one she just killed. She shot that one in the temple and then another in between the eyes.

"Finally! You actually got a point." Negan said sarcastically.

Sherry smiled and immediately stopped and went back to business cursing the fact that Negan made her smile. In her anger with herself, she shot at five more walkers. All of which were in between the eyes.

"Who did you say taught you to shoot?" Negan asked.

"My dad." Sherry said and then shot another walker.

"I'm fuckin' impressed. This is a major turn on for me." Negan said and continued to shoot.

_Ew, _Sherry thought. "I told you I was decent with a gun."

"Was your dad a hunter?"

"No. He was a cop."

"Hmm," was all Negan said. He continued to show her other weapons and she tried her luck with a Glock, .454 Casull, and a Beretta A400. It reminded her of going shooting with her dad. Just as long as she forgot who was shooting with her, she was able to ride the euphoria of memories. It almost made her happy.

"I wanted to give this back to you." Negan said. It was her Mossberg that she had when their camp was taken over by him and his group.

She looked at the gun sadly and shook her head. "You can keep it."

"You didn't like it?"

"I just don't want it anymore. That's all." The gun reminded her of her refusal to put it down and the eventual death of Hannah. No doubt she knew that she and her group would end up in the same place but at least Hannah would have been with them.

He shrugged and placed it on the wall in front of him. "Fine, I'll take it."

Sherry looked at the weapon. That gun and her have been through a lot. However she knew that it had no place in her new life. _At least not yet, _she thought.

"I'm done for the day. Let's get you back to the house, Sherry." Negan said as he grabbed for her hand and they left the room with the guns silent. Outside the shooting range, Negan and Sherry took their ear plugs out and walked up the stairs.

"You did really well. Now we need you trained in hand-to-hand combat and knife fights." Negan said as they walked out of the police station.

"You having training for those? Who teaches that?" Sherry inquired.

"Some men that we have come across. They have taught everyone useful things. I'm going to recruit Dwight to teach everyone how to use a crossbow. He taught you yet?"

Sherry looked down. "There was no need. Even if there was, he was separated from his crossbow a couple of months back. He would have had nothing to teach me with."

"Regardless, you and everyone else are going to learn." Negan said.

There was an awkward pause between them. Negan didn't exactly know what to say to fill the silence so he just looked around at his men and basked in their stares. Sherry thought of Dwight. She wondered where he was and what he was doing at the moment. She said no to relationships only a couple of days ago. Yet he was something happy to think of. The only happy thing in her life right now. She would look forward to his letters in the mornings.

…

Negan left her at the house with Yolanda and guards at the door. Together they looked for a piece of paper and pen and they went straight to her bedroom while Yolanda stood watch and listened carefully to what was happening on the other side.

"He wanted you to rest a bit after target practice, Sherry." Yolanda said. "I'll be downstairs preparing your lunch and if someone tries to wake you, I'll whistle and you'll know to act like you're asleep. Sound good?"

Sherry closed the blinds and put the quilt over her legs. "Sounds great."

Yolanda left and closed the door behind her. To her knowledge, Negan was going to be gone until dinner time. She had plenty of time to write a letter without being suspect of anything.

_Dear Dwight,_

_It's not bold of you to say that. If I am being honest with myself, I think about you a lot during the day as well. I'm curious as to what you are doing all day._

_My side is a little difficult. Trying to be in Negan's good graces is making me forget the bad things he has done. It will be hard to be his lover and to have his actions of violence on the forefront of my mind. As time goes on, I will learn to balance that in my head a bit._

_I do look forward to your next letter. It has given me something to look forward to everyday._

_And to let you know, Negan has actually been a gentleman to me. The first night that he brought me to his house, I thought he was going to force himself on me. But he didn't. Instead, at nights I am handcuffed to my bed in a separate room from him. Sadly, he isn't stupid. Fortunately, I haven't gotten the impression that he is ever going to try anything until what we have is consensual. Unfortunately for him, that won't ever happen._

_Sherry Ciccone_

Sherry put down her pen and paper and folded the piece of paper. She put it inside her pillowcase. Sherry was beginning to feel a bit tired and decided to fall asleep after all. With the letter written, she dozed off with a smile on her face. Tomorrow, she would give the letter to Dwight and it would be in his possession.

…

_It was Sherry, Dean, Takuya & Haruki that were on their own for the first two weeks. They slept in the woods among other displaced people scattered around the forest of the outskirts of Atlanta. Whenever their group heard screaming or anything that sounded sketchy, they quickly moved on._

_Sherry found a Mossberg from a car they scavenged while travelling to a different location. They learned quickly, that if they were going to survive, they were going to have to break rules that weren't necessarily rules anymore. They ransacked empty cars left on highways often._

_They came across other groups. At the time, they would just pass each other by without another thought. But as time went on and hunger set in, some groups became hostile so Dean and Sherry agreed to steer clear of some groups, particularly the groups that mostly consisted of men and no children. Sherry didn't want to ignore groups with children and usually gave up any rations she found to them. They were the future, after all. _

_Their group came across a lake. Dean and Sherry scanned the lakeside and noticed a little lake resort site on the other side with individual cabins._

"_Do you think others are there?" Haruki asked. As the days passed, Haruki became more useful instead of adding unnecessary complaints every five seconds. At first, he was a nuisance to Sherry. Takuya would often give apologetic smiles in her direction but it did not make her hate the situation less._

"_Possibly so. But if there happens to be people, we could merge our group with theirs. Why not? Strength in numbers, right?" Sherry said as she searched through her bag and found what she needed. She grabbed the pistol and handed it to Haruki._

"_Still don't believe in guns?" She asked sarcastically._

_He looked at it for a time but said and did nothing._

"_Look, Haruki. Like I told you before, I'm not going to keep doing your dirty work. You need to learn how to use one of these to protect yourself. I won't always be there for you."_

"_But—"_

"_No buts, mister." She all but threw it in his direction for him to even touch the weapon._

_He looked defeated and Sherry let out a sigh. "Haruki, when I say that I won't always be there for you, it doesn't mean that I don't want to help you. I really do. That's why I want you to learn how to use this. You need to prepare for a day that Dean, Takuya and I will be dead and we can't protect you anymore. Ask yourself this question and give yourself an honest answer. Are you going to be ready for that day if it came tomorrow?"_

_Haruki sighed and looked up to her in understanding._

"_Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach the man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." Dean said._

_Haruki nodded and led the way to the cabins. Before Takuya followed, he gave the two a victorious smile and was on his way._

"_Travelling will be much less…" Dean said as he thought for the right words._

"_Annoying?" Sherry said flatly._

"_That was some tough love you gave him. But he needed to hear it." Dean said._

"_Yeah. Can't hold his hand forever." Sherry added as they followed Haruki and Takuya._

"_Did your parents teach you that important lesson?" Dean inquired._

_Sherry didn't respond. Since her phone lost cell phone service, she kept quiet about her family. She didn't know why but whenever her group asked her about her personal life, a lump immediately formed in her throat. She loved her parents. She was an only child and she knew her parents were worried sick about her. She knew that Takuya and Haruki looked up to her for whatever reason. She wanted to stay strong for her little group. And talking about her life seemed like it would open up to weaknesses around a wall that she was only trying to build._

_They checked every area of the cabins once they reached them. Every little cabin had a mattress and a bathroom. They all took their own cabins except for Takuya and Haruki who shared their own._

_For once, their group experienced peace. Dean found fishing supplies and caught some fish on the dock nearby. Sherry helped and learned of his wife that lived in California. He was on a cross country motorcycle trip for his 65__th__ birthday and retirement celebration with his buddies. While on the trip, his friends all got sick except him. He told Sherry that he planned on making the trip back to see if his wife was okay but the flights were grounded and he was meandering around until he found transportation._

"_What's stopping you right now?" Sherry asked. "Why don't you just walk until you find a car and use that car until you find another car and so on?"_

"_Because I am afraid of the outcome at the end of my journey. I'm afraid of all the outcomes that could happen in this case. What if she's dead? What if she is already heading my direction and I miss her altogether? What if I make it and it's too late for me to help her?" He looked down at his fishing pole and thought hard. "I'm a coward, Sherry. I'm too afraid of 'what if's' to even go looking for my wife of who I have been married to for over four decades. What a cowardice thing to consider."_

_Sherry thought about what to say. She didn't really have any words. "Dean, I'm all by myself. I don't blame my family for not looking for me. The unknown is terrifying. You are probably not on your way for the same reason I am not heading towards them. This outbreak killed a lot of people fast. Odds are my family is dead. They probably didn't even make it out of the suburb area. It's not cowardice to think that way, Dean. You're just being a realist. To be an optimist is dangerous nowadays."_

_Dean wiped at his eyes and said nothing. After a while of fishing he thanked her for her words. She nodded a 'you're welcome' and walked away to have Dean collect his thoughts alone._

_She didn't feel like being with people. She walked along the water's edge until her group were far behind her. If walkers ended up seeing her, she'd just jump in the water and swim away. It was already over a hundred degrees today so the thought was tempting. Instead she sat and threw little pebbles into the lake. She grew mesmerized by the ripple effects that she became lost in her thoughts._

_Sherry hardly opened up about her family towards her group. Although it was something that Dean needed to hear for comfort, she vowed to never talk about her family again. She loved her family. It was near physically painful to think about them constantly. She shoved the happy memories in the back of head but they resurfaced as soon as she tried to bury them._

_A sob came from her throat followed by tears that she quickly tried to wipe away as if her burst of emotion didn't happen. But she soon became a waterfall and couldn't control it anymore. She cried openly for several minutes._

_Just when she was about to calm down, she heard footsteps. She was glad that she brought her shotgun and aimed it at the direction the noise was coming from._

_The footsteps came into view as a man stepped from behind the foliage. He immediately put his hands up and was startled by her presence. And her shotgun._

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He whispered. It almost sounded like he came upon a wild horse that was about to trample his direction. _

_She stared at him, unwilling to put her weapon down._

"_Miss, I'm just passing through. I didn't mean any trouble." He said in a calming tone. "Can you put your gun down?"_

"_Where are you headed?" She asked._

_He looked at her in defeat. "I don't really have a destination in mind. I was with some friends of mine and none of them made it. I was kind of hoping that I would just stumble on another group. Maybe a safe zone if there is one."_

_Sherry kept her gun aimed at him but saw the sincerity behind his words. He looked exhausted…and kind. He had warm brown eyes and brown hair that was kind of curly but not enough to even grow close to an afro if he even wanted one. She assumed he probably didn't._

_After several moments she dropped her gun and slung the strap on her back. "I have a group over at that resort over there." She pointed across the lake. "Would you like to be with us for a bit?"_

_He smiled gratefully and put his hands down. "I would appreciate that. Thanks, Miss."_

_She stepped towards him and outstretched her hand. "My name is Sherry."_

"_It's nice to meet you Sherry. I'm Dwight." He looked at her and must have noticed her demeanor from her breakdown before. "Are you okay?"_

"_I'll be okay." She replied as they started walking towards the camp._

_Sherry would steal sideways glances at the newcomer. From what she observed, he looked to be close to her age. Maybe a little older. He was taller than she was by at least a foot. He had a confident walk about him even though his eyes looked like he had more than his fair share of grief. Especially newfound grief. She supposed everyone looked like that now. It was a mixture of shock and sadness in everyone's eyes. A shell of the joys everyone used to have._

_Every so often she would try to look at him and she noticed he was already looking at her. They would exchange awkward eye contact and she would break it as her face would flare red. She felt embarrassed for being caught in the act of looking at him. Although she didn't really know why she felt embarrassed. She was entitled to observe someone. _It's a free country, _she thought._

"_How long have you guys been here?" Dwight asked._

"_We only found this place this morning. All the cabins have their own mattresses. It's going to be nice to sleep on one for once."_

"_Amen. Since this whole thing started, it's been the forest floor for me." His voice was gentle but demanded everyone's attention when he spoke._

_They reached the camp. The sun was setting as she saw Haruki and Takuya collecting wood for a fire to cook the fish Dean caught. Almost in unison they looked up at Sherry approaching with the newcomer. They were surprised but not necessarily alarmed. They had no reason to be alarmed yet._

_When they reached the group, Sherry cleared her throat. "This is Dwight." She said. "I found him while I was scouting the area and he'll be with us from here on out. This is Haruki & Takuya. And this is Dean."_

"_Good thing I caught a lot of fish. You hungry, son?" Dean asked._

"_I haven't had anything filling for days." Dwight said as he relaxed on a wooden lounge chair next to the fire that Takuya was successfully maintaining as its flame was growing._

"_Don't eat too much. Your appetite is a lot bigger than your stomach right now. So you might get full sooner than you think." Sherry said as she sat and leaned next to a tree._

"_Noted." Dwight glanced at her with a smirk._

_They cooked and ate the fish while everyone exchanged stories of their lives before. Everyone except Sherry who listened and smiled at the others stories of their upbringing and the things that they missed the most._

_Like clockwork, Sherry would see Dwight's attention avert to her from her peripherals. He would look for a couple of seconds and then look to whoever was speaking at the time. Sherry refused to look back at him only to avoid the eye contact that would ensue after he was caught staring at her._

_She hoped they would find others meandering in the woods with nowhere to go. That they would grow to be their own group and defend each other._

_She knew that could be the start of something good in this world._

…

She woke up to someone touching her face. It looked dark outside and couldn't believe that she slept that long. It felt like two fingers stroking her cheek.

Sure enough when she opened her eyes, she saw Negan bending down and caressing her face.

She crawled away as fast as she could and was just as annoyed that she was woken up by him. _How long had he been there?_

"Hi." He said with a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"How long was I asleep for?" She asked.

"About six hours. It's common though. With that gash on the back of your head, you should sleep often. Dinner is ready to eat downstairs when you are ready." With that he got off his knees and push off the mattress to stand. "I'll see you in couple of minutes at the table, honey."

He left as she sat up on her bed. It made her uncomfortable that she didn't even hear him enter the room. She thought she was a lighter sleeper than that. She would definitely sleep with one eye open now.

She walked through the hallway and heard the front door downstairs slam open and shut violently. Wondering what the commotion was she hurried her steps on the stairs and looked outside the window next to the front door. Negan was fighting some man in the middle of the street. And he was winning.

She opened the door and ran to the gates and stood with the gathering crowd. Negan was on top of the man punching him over and over again. The man looked terrified and angry but he didn't fight back. No one tried to stop Negan to break up the fight.

"Negan!" Sherry shouted. Negan landed a couple more blows after she called out his name. Either he had selective hearing or chose not to respond. The man beneath him was starting to pass out in a bloody pulp.

"NEGAN!" She yelled again. She didn't dare touch him to try and stop him. He was drenched in that man's blood. Sherry was terrified that this was the same man that stroked her cheeks just minutes ago!

The man below went limp as he dozed into a pan induced slumber. Negan looked around at the people surrounding his little outburst. "Get back to whatever you were doing. Leave him be." He said as he stood up and motioned to the man lying in the middle of the street.

He passed by Sherry and headed for the house. She followed slowly as she looked to everyone else looking at her. They feared for her. She feared for herself.

She opened the door and closed it quietly. She heard noise upstairs in the bathroom. The door was open. She slowly walked up the stairs as she wondered how she should approach him. Would he lash out at her? She saw him in the doorway with his shirt off which was now in a bloody heap in the middle of the bathroom.

He looked to her with an apologetic smile. "Did you see that?"

She could see his knuckles were in terrible shape. "You need to bandage those up, Negan. That looks bad."

He glanced down at his hands and snickered. "Yeah. Can you help, Sherry? I've tried to bandage knuckles before. It's fuckin' difficult."

"Yeah." She said in a breathless whisper. He bottom lip quivered as she tried to figure out what to say next. Sherry didn't know how much she was shaking until she reached for the first aid kit that Negan placed next to the sink. He calmly reached for her hand with his and held it.

"He had it coming, Sherry. I was only giving him what he asked for." Negan uttered quietly. He brought her into an awkward hug. Sherry didn't hug him back.

"What did he do?"

"He beat me in a ping pong game last night." He said as he shouldered past her and headed downstairs with the first aid kit.

Sherry was left shocked as she slowly followed Negan downstairs. That man was still unconscious in front of Negan's house in a bloody mess because he beat Negan at ping pong? That was it? She would add that to her letter for Dwight that he was to always let Negan win or he would die over such a trivial thing.

He was at the kitchen table with a bowl of soup right next to him.

"Grab yourself a bowl. In between bites you can help me out." He said as he took a bite.

"What an appetizing activity while eating." She said sarcastically.

He laughed. "Yeah. I was just hungry. You can wait to eat after if you don't want to multitask."

"I think I'll do that option." She found towels in a kitchen cabinet and soaked them in hot water from their running sink. "How do you guys have running water?"

"We have people in charge of that. That is their job to keep electricity going and that we always have running water."

"It's nice." She stated as she headed over to him with the towels and a large bowl of hot water. She took his left hand and rested it on the table in front of her. She took a moist towel and held it over his hand.

"Ready?" She asked timidly.

"Sherry, sweetie. I have already banged up my knuckles pretty bad before. Just go for it." He said as he scooped up more soup.

"Fine." She said and without hesitating she placed the towel right on top of his hand. She started to rub off the blood around his wounds as he cursed under his breath. She was kneading her fingers into the places where the blood was being stubborn and not trying to be gentle about it.

"Bitch, this hurts!" Negan complained quietly. His teeth were grinding. He was trying so hard to keep his patience at a good level. Sherry decided to be gentler and started massaging his hands a bit. Only to keep him from striking her because of the pain.

"Now that almost feels nice." He commented.

"Good." She replied concentrating on her task at hand as she bandaged his knuckles.

He was silent as he looked at her face. He broke the silence by blurting, "You going to tell me when you are ready to do it?"

The sliver of peace she felt from their interaction was shattered as he hurdled that curveball at her. She looked at him in shock.

He put his right hand up in defense. "Not tonight I get it." He leaned towards her. "But you will tell me which night is going to be the special night, right?"

She shrugged. "I will." She gazed into his eyes to make sure he understood. "Just know that it might be awhile until that night comes."

He sighed and then took another bite of soup. "I'll take it."

…

Night came and she was handcuffed to the frame as she was the night before. She slept soundly and was again woken up by Yolanda who had a list of things to be done for the day. The list was a little bit longer than the other's but it gave them something to get their minds off of their personal hell.

Yolanda stood watch as Sherry wrote in her note to Dwight.

_PS Please be careful when you play ping pong and billiards with Negan. He is a sore loser._

_Also, you said that you can't guard the door while I am awake. Why is that?_

...

**Author's Note – That's chapter 3! Leave a review and tell me what you thought!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note – So far, my favorite chapter! I hope you like it!**

Chapter 4

_Dwight sat next to the campfire with his new group. They all spoke about their lives before. They were all intriguing to him. Especially Takuya and Haruki's stories of Japan. It was filled with a twinge of sadness knowing that the part of their lives they were talking about was a distant memory. They were never going to be the same after this. _

_As interesting as it was to hear of the men's stories, Dwight glanced at the woman who remained quiet. She was satisfied with hearing their trivial stories but never once did she add her two cents into the conversation. Every so often, the woman would notice Dwight staring at her so he would try to gaze at something else in the distance. Her face almost looked annoyed but not enough for him to stop altogether. _

_She wouldn't look at him completely. He grinned as he rode the high that he was on right now. This was the most fun he had in a long time. Granted it was at someone's expense. He could tell she didn't like being stared at. Not one bit._

_After a while, she would stare past everyone in the group. Or she would look at the fire and Dwight could tell instantly that she was somewhere else. This time, he wasn't staring to make her feel uncomfortable. He was only becoming lost in her own grief that was clearly written on her face. It almost seemed more real to him then the stories the group were telling. _

_Dean patted his legs and stood up from his log. "Let's say we get this place all cleaned up and then we'll all go to bed. Sherry, would you like to show Dwight his cabin?"_

_Sherry blinked as if being snapped back into reality. She looked to Dean with regret. "I'm so sorry, Dean. What was that?"_

"_Would you like to show Dwight his cabin?" He repeated._

_Sherry stood up quickly and walked past Dwight. "Yeah. Follow me."_

_They didn't walk far as Sherry came to a cabin and opened the door. "You can have this one."_

_Dwight looked inside and saw that nothing was touched. The bed was made like the maid cleaned it only minutes before._

_Then he heard snarling. He thought it came from inside the cabin but looked around and noticed dozens of walkers descending on their camp. They weren't detected yet though. He saw Dean, Haruki and Takuya try and wave them down of the imminent danger as they headed inside a cabin together. Sherry too saw the danger and Dwight grabbed her forearm and guided her inside his cabin._

_He quietly closed the door behind them and crouched in front of the door. Sherry did the same to keep weight on the door in case a walker was curious. They both sat there in silence._

_Dwight assumed that she would be a crying mess but instead she was calm and calculating as she looked into the darkness of the cabin to the window on their left._

_The snarling continued as the walkers meandered around their camp. They had been sitting there for hours now. Sherry was still calm with her hand holding onto her gun with a tight grip._

"_Impressive." Dwight whispered. He could almost not hear himself._

"_What?" Sherry said absentmindedly._

"_You just seem so collected."_

_Silence followed his statement and he thought that he wouldn't receive a response. Minutes passed and he gave up on conversation altogether._

"_I am not afraid to die." Sherry whispered._

_Dwight needed no further explanation. That answer explained it all. He didn't know who Sherry was before the outbreak but whoever she was then was gone now. Instead she focused on living for other people that depended on her. She didn't hold herself of value over anyone else._

_They stayed there for a couple more hours and couldn't hear anymore growling. "We'll take a look around and then I'll take the first watch of the night." Sherry said._

"_Let me take the first watch, Sherry. I insist. It's probably almost morning anyways." Dwight said._

"_No. You have been walking all day yesterday. We had all day to relax today. I'll be fine. But you need to rest." Sherry explained._

"_Why don't we take first watch together? Then when those guys are ready to go, we'll get our sleep in. Sound good?" He reasoned._

_She looked past him and then made eye contact. He was almost floored by her demanding attention. She didn't even have to say anything to have him give his full attention to her._

"_Fine." She then opened the door and started to scout around. He followed with a smile on his face. He would have to stick around Sherry to keep himself feeling this elated. Even if an apocalypse surrounded him. Nothing could bring him down._

…

Negan let him guard the house on his own today when Yolanda came. He trusted Yolanda enough to not try and smuggle Sherry out of the house. She was too scared of him to try. Dwight would have tried to take Sherry out of this place if only it didn't mean that the rest of their group would be punished for it. So instead he sat and thought about the many strategies of escaping would be without having casualties.

Dwight kicked himself many times even considering having Sherry play bait. _What an asshole thing to even suggest to her, _he thought to himself. However, they didn't have any other choice. Negan threatened to kill everyone and have her be in the same position that she was in now. At least with them alive, she had a chance to escape him.

Still the idea of having Sherry share the same house as that bastard didn't sit well with him. He loathed him.

The night that Negan came to them replayed in his head as he thought of how all of this could have been prevented. He should have saw the signs. He saw the way Negan looked at Sherry. He looked at her from head to toe and lingered his gaze everywhere in between. It made Dwight's skin crawl.

They gagged and tied his hands after Negan's group knocked Sherry out cold that night. Dwight fought tooth and nail to teach all of these guys a lesson but instead they held him down and almost killed him then until Negan stopped them. He ordered his men to take their whole group to their camp. He watched as Negan picked Sherry's unconscious body with ease. He carried her all the way to Sanctuary. Then they separated Dwight from Sherry.

He was held in a room away from everyone in their group as he worried about their wellbeing. Especially Sherry's. In the past five and a half months, Sherry had become a friend to him. _More than that, _the thought instantly came to his head. He cared about Sherry a great deal and would raise Hell if anything happened to her.

Dwight recalled Negan speaking with him about his plans for everyone in their group.

"_I respect you. You are a fighter. It took five of my men to tackle you to the ground. That was pretty fun to watch. What's your weapon of choice, sir?" Negan said facing him as he ungagged Dwight._

_Dwight coughed and breathed in heavy spouts when the gag came off. After gaining composure, he answered. "A crossbow."_

_Negan looked at him and smiled. "You know, son. My weapon of choice is very unique. I made it especially for the apocalypse. It's very effective and could blow the fuckin brains out of any poor asshole I came across. Living or dead." With that he produced a baseball bat with barbed wire on the end of it. "Beauty, isn't she? Her name is Lucille." Dwight could see that Negan didn't care to wipe off the dried blood from others who were unfortunate to meet Lucille._

"_What's your name again, son?" Negan said as he stood up and circled around Dwight with Lucille. _

"_Dwight." He said._

"_Dwight. I am a man that expects things out of people that come across me. I want something of your group. A couple of things. It would help your group and myself if you would be the middle man. Help your group comply. That way everyone wins."_

"_There is nothing that our group has that you can want. All we have is what is on our backs. Nothing of value."_

_Negan chuckled. "Don't discredit yourself too much. Like I said, five of my men had to hold you down. So what I want from you and the men in your group is to join my men. I am building an army and would you like you to join. What do you say?" Negan asked as he leaned down to be nose to nose with Dwight._

_Dwight spat in his face. It was a bold move but he hoped that it would be a good response to his proposal. Negan wiped his face calmly and smiled. "She is beautiful, isn't she?"_

"_I don't give a fuck about your stupid baseball bat." Dwight spat._

"_That's not who I am talking about." Negan said as he started to circle around him again. "She has a lot of spunk left. That's pretty rare in our world. I wondered though. When she was so willing to put her gun down to protect that woman. Now I could pretty much get her to do anything, couldn't I?"_

_Dwight could feel his veins bulge on his neck when he put two and two together. Oh, how he wished that his hands weren't tied so he could kill this man. "You won't touch her." Dwight demanded._

"_I heard your little conversation with her before I came upon your group last night. You have the hot's for her. She makes you feel really good. So I devised a plan. Care to hear it?" Negan played._

_He didn't wait for Dwight to answer and continued anyways. "I've been looking for some tail to cozy up to at the end of the night. I saw her and I saw your group. I figured, hell, this girl would really do anything if I raised the stakes high enough. What if I gave her an ultimatum? And you an ultimatum as well. Sherry will be mine. If she refuses me, her group will be killed including you. Even if she said no, she still would have to be with me. If she says yes, you all live. Only if you follow my instructions and the codes here."_

"_You son of a bitch." Dwight muttered as he stared down at the floor. _

_Negan lifted his chin up violently to have Dwight look at him. Negan said his words slowly. "If you don't comply with everything I say, it won't be you that deals with the consequences. I will come after her. I know how you feel about her. You wouldn't want her to be dealt with unkindly, would you? No, I won't kill her. But I know of some other things that are deemed unsavory."_

_Dwight could see in his eyes that this man wasn't going to play games. He killed Hannah without even batting an eye. He knew that he would humiliate Sherry because of something Dwight did. He knew that he couldn't live with himself if that were to happen._

"_If you need a little more leverage, Lucille needs to stretch her legs a bit." Negan stood in front of him in a stance like any baseball player ready to bat. He wrapped his knuckles on the bat and slowly went started practice swinging. Dwight started sweating. He was going to die in a couple of minutes._

_But if he was alive he could help Sherry eventually get out of this mess. What good would it do to anyone if he was dead? That sealed Sherry's fate in this world. And he wouldn't be able to stop it. _

_Negan's stance became more aggressive. He swung the bat behind his head and the bat started swinging towards Dwight's face._

"_What do I need to do?" Dwight yelled. Negan stopped the bat from hitting Dwight's face but it was only inches from his nose. He could clearly see the barbed wire that would have entered his skull._

_Negan grinned at his little victory. "You are to be in my army. You and the men in your group. That's it. Nothing else. Oh and you can tell Sherry about her little plan in this. You won't be seeing her much after that. So have your little moment and be done with it."_

Dwight thought about his moment with Sherry. She kissed him innocently and sweetly. Like he imagined it would have been.

Since then he woke up on edge. He grew agitated with everyone around him including his own group. He went to thinking of one of the first encounters with Sherry. He strived to be as calm and calculating as she was. No matter how many countless hours it was that they sat there. She stood on guard and ready to take on whatever burst through the door. That was his way of thinking since he became a member of Negan's army. He looked for every way to get them out of this situation. One day it would pay off and they would go free.

This way of thinking was exhausting. It never ended. But if it meant that Sherry would have a shot at a normal life, he didn't care about himself. Only her.

He heard steps in Negan's house and walked inside knowing that Sherry was awake. He knew he only had a sliver of a moment to speak to her in the day. His steps were the most jovial they had been in a long time as he took three steps at a time up the stairs. He saw Yolanda and Sherry in her bedroom as she was handcuffed to the bed.

He took in the scene and was immediately incensed. "What the hell is this?" He said as he looked to the handcuffs. Yolanda quickly gave him the keys and he removed the handcuffs. Sherry's appearance only looked drowsy from sleep and nothing else. She looked at Dwight with hopeful eyes. Once her hand was no longer bound, she sat up and gave Dwight a tight hug to which Dwight responded immediately. He knew he was wasting time but savored the hug regardless as he buried his face in her hair.

Their time together before Negan's reign, wasn't anything romantic. Is was only after their conversation and their kiss that their friendship delved into a deeper level. At least it seemed that way to Dwight. He knew it could never be with Negan in the way but it was moments like this when she was in his arms that their situation seemed trivial.

They broke apart and Sherry retrieved something from her pillowcase. It was a folded up letter.

"This is for you." She said softly.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. They locked eyes for several moments. Dwight could see her eyes darken before him and dreaded her response.

"It's definitely not a walk in the park but I am hanging in there. Take this." She shoved the letter to him. "I don't want you to get caught with me. You said that you aren't supposed to be here so if he sees us that means no more letters." Sherry reasoned. Dwight knew she was right but it didn't make the leaving less agonizing. He had no idea what he was leaving her to defend herself from. And that killed him.

"Okay. I'll leave." It felt wrong to not leave without so much as a handshake so he instead stroked her cheek and held her chin. She welcomed the gesture. With a lot of self-control, he stood up and departed with the letter in hand. He stopped and looked back to her. "I will have one for you tomorrow. In response to your letter today."

She smiled at him with reassurance and nodded.

…

He went to his house that he shared with Dean, Yolanda and the little girl that Yolanda took under her wing, Jenna.

He went to his room and shut the door behind him and opened the letter as he sat on his bed.

_Dear Dwight,_

_It's not bold of you to say that. If I am being honest with myself, I think about you a lot during the day as well. I'm curious as to what you are doing during the day._

_My side is a little difficult. Trying to be in Negan's good graces is making me forget the bad things he has done. It will be hard to be his lover and to have his actions of violence on the forefront of my mind. As time goes on, I will learn to balance that in my head a bit. _

_I do look forward to your next letter. It has given me something to look forward to everyday._

_And to let you know, Negan has actually been a gentleman to me. The first night that he brought me to his house, I thought he was going to force himself on me. But he didn't. Instead, at nights I am handcuffed to my bed in a separate room from him. Sadly, he isn't stupid. Fortunately, I haven't gotten the impression that he is ever going to try anything until what we have is consensual. Unfortunately for him, that won't ever happen._

_Sherry Ciccone_

_PS Please be careful when you play ping pong and billiards with Negan. He is a sore loser._

_Also, you said that you can't guard the door while I am awake. Why is that?_

He finished the letter and placed it on his bed. He was happy that Negan was keeping to his side of the bargain. He didn't have his way with Sherry which meant so far that he was staying a man of his word.

He grabbed a pen and notepad from the desk in his room and plopped back on the bed.

_Dear Sherry_

_Ciccone, huh? That sounds…Italian? Whatever, it just sounds different than Johnson for example._

_I am being trained in Negan's army. I mostly scout and scan the gates to see if there is any danger on the other side of the fence. So far nothing because our fences are pretty genius and repel against other walkers. Not going to lie, it's impressive. My other duty is to watch Negan's house from the time he wakes up and leaves the house to the time you wake up._

_Take your time with Negan. I hope to gain his favor before you do to be honest. Only so that way you don't have to do anything you would regret with him. _

_I will be careful at billiards. I wasn't planning on beating him anyways. Judging by the way he tore at Hansen last night, he would always get the last beating. Fair or unfair._

_Negan doesn't want me near you. He knows I like you as more than just a friend as he heard our conversation in the forest before he basically abducted our group. I'll repeat your sentiments and say that sadly, he isn't stupid. If he was, I would have taken you away from here days ago._

_These letters remind me how I used to be before we were with Negan. I feel like since I have been here, I haven't been the same. It's exhausting to find a weakness in this camp. Because so far there isn't one. However, the mornings when you wake up and these letters will be a great escape from this place._

_Yours truly,_

_Dwight Orlich…not Schrute_

…

Dwight looked at his letter in amazement. This Dwight on paper seemed so much more different than the Dwight he was now. He hoped that his sense of humor would stay written on these pages. At least for Sherry's sake so that way she wouldn't think he was too far gone.

Someone knocked on the door. He quickly put away Sherry's letter in his pillowcase and the notepad under his bed. "Come in!"

The door opened and it was Dean. "Negan's downstairs. He wants to chat with you." Dean looked at Dwight questioningly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be right there." Dwight said as he stood up off his bed. "Did he say what it was about?"

"No. You watch your back though." Dean warned.

Dwight nodded reassuringly. "I'll be okay."

Dwight went downstairs and saw Negan waiting in their front room. Dwight saw Negan's bandages on his knuckles. No doubt from last night's brawl in the road.

"How are you doing?" Dwight asked blankly. He was only asking just to ask. He didn't really care.

"I'm fuckin awesome." Negan said with a smile. As sadistic as this man was, he always had a smile on his face.

"Saw the fight last night." Dwight said as he Negan motioned him to step outside. They walked off the porch and started walking towards the front gates.

"Yeah. It was a good one. Hansen was getting too cocky the night before. I was getting tired of it. But I'm now all bandaged up. I'll be fine."

They walked about on the sidewalk and Negan looked to him. "I have a job for you. My men and I are going to scout around and look for more crossbows for our people. As many as we can find. Get some arrows while we are at it. I would like you to teach some of our people to use them."

"Bolts." Dwight corrected.

"Pardon?" Negan said unfazed.

"You called them arrows. They are called bolts." Dwight explained.

Negan raised his eyebrows and looked away. "Whatever. We're going to scout for those. I would like you while I am gone to keep scouting the gates. Make sure nothing comes our way. Can I trust you to do that?"

"Yeah. No problem."

"We'll be gone for several days. I need to pick up some taxes from others."

Dwight was confused. "Taxes?"

"Yeah. Our men offer protection for smaller groups around us. The protection comes at a hefty price though. I mean, fuck, we do all this work for them. Sometimes they can be whiny bastards when we pick up our payments."

Dwight nodded but said nothing. He just wished that their group stumbled upon the smaller groups. He would have taken taxes over living in Sanctuary any day.

"Sherry is very good at shooting. Did you help her with that?" Negan asked.

"No. She was already excellent at it before I met her." Dwight said.

"What do you know about her?" Negan asked.

"Not much." Dwight confessed. "Why?"

"I just wanted to know something that peaked her interests. She is not an open book. Just something that makes it easier to get in her pants." Negan winked as he lightly slapped Dwight's face. Negan walked away while Dwight was fuming with what Negan just said to him. This wasn't the first time that Negan tried to rub in Dwight's face his relationship with Sherry. Dwight just stood there and watched Negan walk away with pride in his steps. Dwight despised the man.

_Negan is going to be gone for a few days, _Dwight thought. Now it was his turn to have some pride in his steps. That would make it a lot easier to talk to Sherry.

He walked to the gates and instantly heard snarling and growling. It only grew louder as he got closer. He wasn't bothered by it and it didn't worry him. He looked towards the gates and saw the horrifying scene in front of him. The gates were made completely of walkers that were tied to the gates. As far as he knew, the gates around the all of Sanctuary were like this. It probably took some time for them to do this but it was worth the work. No herds came their way because the gate worked as a repellent. The walkers couldn't smell what was beyond the gates. As twisted as it was, the idea worked. It was one thing that Dwight didn't need to worry about and he could focus on other things.

Dwight's scouting area was a on a tall roof by the gates. He climbed up the outside stairs and saw Hansen was already there sitting on the lounge chair. He almost looked ready to pass out any second.

"What are you doing man? You should get some rest." Dwight said.

"Negan expects me to work. Not sleep in." Hansen said in a rough voice.

"So Negan is leaving for a few days. I was hoping you would tell me what protocol is." Dwight said as he knelt next to Hansen's lounge chair.

Hansen shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that all the men that are left are to guard the gates twelve hours in the day and then we rotate. That way no one that is in here can get out."

"So no guards throughout the Sanctuary?"

"Nope. Negan calls all of his men to guard the gates and that's it. That way no one comes in and no one goes out. Don't get any ideas of leaving."

Dwight started walking away and headed towards the stairs. "I'm not." He called over his shoulder and all but ran down the stairs.

…

"I'll only be gone for a couple of days. My men will be shorthanded so you won't have guards at the house. But don't worry. You will still be protected. Yolanda knows what you guys will do while I'm gone. You will remain handcuffed throughout the night. This is a trial run. If you don't get into trouble, then perhaps I'll think about those handcuffs at night." Negan explained to her.

Sherry was ecstatic knowing that Negan wouldn't be breathing down her back for a few days. No guards at the house. She could do whatever she wanted. Except escape. But perhaps Yolanda and she could walk around Sanctuary. That was her plan.

Negan packed his things and placed them next to the front door. Negan and Sherry were on the couch in the front room as Negan tried his best attempt and version of snuggling. Sherry's body was tense and she didn't feel calm. She was hyper aware of where Negan's hand was at her waist. His fingers would lightly graze too high or too low. Subtle but regardless it made her feel uncomfortable.

"I'll miss this." Negan said as he stroked her hair.

"Yeah me too." She didn't mean it.

His face got close to hers as his nose touched her cheek. He gave her a long lingering kiss on her jawline.

"I'll miss you." He whispered as he continued to slobber on her jawline and down to her neck.

Red flags were flying everywhere as she started to worry. "Negan." She said in a warning tone.

He kissed her neck one more time. "Just a husband saying goodbye to his wife. Can you blame me?" He asked innocently.

She looked at him in disgust but gave him a force smile. He shrugged off her non answer and guided her into the bedroom upstairs. He handcuffed her the bed frame and hovered his face over hers. "Give me a goodbye kiss." He pleaded.

She nodded slightly and let him kiss her. His lips were on hers fiercely and she wanted the moment to be over as soon as it started. His tongue entered her mouth and she felt uncomfortable physically and mentally.

He broke the kiss and smiled. "You need practice kissing."

"I'll try more next time." She mumbled. She didn't put forth a lot of effort that time. She didn't care to.

"Good." He winked and left the room. When she heard him sprint down the stairs and collect his bags she heard him yell. "Goodbye, sweetheart! I'll see you two days' time!"

She didn't reply and instead heard the door slam shut.

She laid there for hours not feeling tired. She couldn't wait until morning to get out of this house. The only time that she left was during her time shooting at the police station. But she felt the need to explore. She had been walking for six months before Negan came. And now she felt claustrophobic in this house. She was going to see Yolanda's house and where her people were living and if they were being taken care of properly. She couldn't wait.

She heard the door downstairs open quietly and shut the same way. Suddenly she felt very nervous. Negan was gone. Who would come to the house in the middle of the night? She didn't trust Negan's men. Some were just as evil as Negan was. She propped herself on the bed in the most defensive way she could conceive. She couldn't use her hands but her feet could kick someone just fine.

She heard footsteps slowly ascending the stairs. Whoever it was didn't want anyone else to know they were here.

At this point Sherry was concerned for her wellbeing. Whoever it was could ruin her plans of keeping her group safe. The thought frightened her. She breathed slowly and thought to keep her head on straight only to teach whoever it was a lesson. Although she was a prisoner, she was not to be messed with.

The door creaked open and Sherry saw a tall shadow looming in the doorway. He didn't stay long in that spot as he saw Sherry crouched on the bed ready to take him on.

The figure came into the room quickly with keys. From the moon's light she could finally see the man's face as he unlocked the handcuffs.

"Dwight?" She whispered. He looked at her and smiled.

Much like their meeting earlier today, she hugged him tightly when the handcuffs were off. He hugged back with no restraint.

"How did you get in here?" She asked.

"All the men are watching the gates. It was easy. Mind if I stay in here awhile?" He asked.

"Please do. I haven't had a decent conversation in days." He sat down in the bed leaning on the bed frame next to her. She scooted closer to him and smiled.

They looked at each other for a long time. "I know that we are in a shitty situation right now but I have never been happier." He exclaimed.

She smiled too. "Me too." She leaned in to him and put her head on his shoulder.

"This is awfully forward but I would like to kiss you right now." He stated.

Sherry smiled. She was glad he asked. She nodded and leaned her face to his and kissed him first. Their kiss lingered a bit as he positioned her onto his lap. The tips of his fingers rested on her hips as his palms were holding onto her thighs.

Negan forced his passion on her. She could sense the passion behind it. But it was because it was forced that she didn't respond to it. It was easy for Dwight to send butterflies fluttering in her stomach. All he had to was look at her and she would feel that way. Now that they were together, Sherry's emotions were on overload. But she didn't want to stop and think about it. She wanted to keep going.

Dwight was being gentle and didn't let his hands wander. His hands were firmly planted on her thighs as he kissed her on a level that she never experienced before. She knew that Dwight thought she was beautiful and he liked her enough to enter a relationship with her. But this was something deep. Sherry reveled in it.

Dwight gave her soft kisses all over her face and stopped to look at her. "Is he still keeping his distance?"

"He's persistent but doesn't force anything serious." She revealed.

Dwight breathed a sigh of relief. "Good." He cradled her face with his hand. She put her hand on top of his.

"Let's hope that his supply runs are a common thing." He said with a smile.

"I hope they are." Returning the smile.

"I haven't seen you this happy since before this all happened." He surmised.

"You are bearded and very attractive. I consider myself to be lucky to be with you." She said quietly.

He kissed her again. This time he pushed her lightly on the bed and fell on top of her. "Does that mean you admit to liking me now?" Dwight asked playfully.

"I have always liked you, Dwight." She teased.

"Oh c'mon. You know what I mean." He said.

"I know. And I meant it like that." She said. "It would have just been painful to see you die if I we were to become something more than friends." She confessed.

He kissed her on the lips softly. "Life is short, Sher."

He got up from on top of her and laid on the bed next to her. "Can I stay the night, beautiful?"

She nodded. "You aren't worried of being caught?"

"No. The only person allowed in the house while Negan is gone is Yolanda. And she isn't going to say a word." He said quietly.

She smiled. "She was kind of rooting for us."

He smiled and looked at her. "I was too."

… 

**Author's Note – Oh my goodness, a nice Dwight/Sherry reunion that kind of breaks the sadness of their situation. Enjoy the happiness…while it lasts! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sherry slept in a bit longer after Dwight left. She didn't sleep well thinking at any moment someone would catch Dwight sleeping next to her. As much as she enjoyed him being there, they were walking on dangerous ground.

She didn't feel guilty for what she did. If she loved Negan and their "marriage" was something real, then maybe so. But Sherry felt nothing for Negan.

She needed Dwight. She didn't realize how much she really liked him until they came to Sanctuary. She would admit she found him handsome when she first met him and she developed crush like feelings for him but throughout the months that she knew him, he became an escape for her. Something to focus on that didn't have to do with death. For a while, it made her hate him. She didn't want to become attached to someone who gave her so much happiness. Because happiness eventually turned bitter in this world. However, in between the last couple of days, she decided not to care.

Sherry had these thoughts until she fell back to sleep and didn't realize she fell into a slumber until she heard the door open downstairs. The door opened soon after and she saw Yolanda with the keys to her handcuffs ready for use. There was only one problem.

"Sherry, you got out of your handcuffs." Yolanda said in an exasperated voice.

_Uh oh, _Sherry thought. Dwight took them off last night and they didn't even remember to put them back on.

"Care to explain?" Yolanda challenged.

Sherry looked at her with begging eyes as she sat up from her bed. "Dwight was here. I'm sorry."

Yolanda just nodded. "I figured. That's probably why it took me awhile to find these keys this morning. They were not in the same place that I left them."

"Are you going to say anything?"

Yolanda shook her head. "Heavens no." She sat down next to Sherry. "Sweetie, you are in this house to save our lives. You are here because of me. We are all forever in your debt. Keeping your relationship with Dwight wouldn't even come close to repaying you. I am more than happy to keep my lips sealed."

Sherry hugged her in a tight embrace. "Thank you so much, Yolanda."

"No problem. We don't have a full agenda today. And since Negan isn't around, what would you like to do, Sherry?"

"I want to walk around the perimeter of Sanctuary." Sherry said immediately as she stood up and looked in the dresser for some clothes.

"Sounds good. Have you seen the gates yet?" Yolanda asked.

"Nope. I have seen the court house, the police station and this house. I am a little antsy being here." Sherry admitted. "What's so special about the gates?"

"Oh, you'll see." Yolanda said.

…

"_Okay, Haruki. Dean is going to teach you how to shoot today. You too, Takuya." Dwight said. "The rest of us are going deer hunting." He said to the rest of the group with a smile. The group all smiled back and were in good spirits. They were in the deep parts of the forest and hadn't seen walkers in days. That morning as they all emerged from their tents, they saw dozens of deer on their camp._

_It had been a month since Dwight joined with the group. Their little cabins were overcome by a herd and they had to leave. Since then, Dwight and Sherry have become the de facto leaders. They spoke a lot about what to do about where their group would go next. Which pleased Dwight. Because it seemed that was the only way she would communicate with him. Although it didn't stop him from having other conversations from time to time. She wouldn't respond to some of his questions so the conversations were very short lived._

_Their group joined with another group. It included Jason and his family. His wife Terri and their children Teresa, Todd, Teegan and Troy. Dwight was almost envious that their family was still intact. There was a woman named Yolanda with her "adopted" daughter Jenna. Jenna's parents were taken by walkers. Then a woman named Hannah who got along with Dean very well. The others were Eduardo and his adult son Ricardo. They had others join but they were taken by the walkers that took their cabins._

_They all parted and agreed to meet at their camp at noon. Deer hunting was the most exciting thing that they had all done in weeks. It was near monotonous trying to survive. There was a lot more walking than what Dwight was used to before. Hunting gave all of them a goal. And goals made everyone feel useful. If they caught a deer, they would have a great night filled with laughter and a sliver of peace._

_Dwight's hunting partners were his crossbow and Sherry. He found a crossbow at a convenience store a mile away from the lake. His dad taught him how to use one years ago. While they were at the cabins, he practiced with a carved target on a tree and didn't let up until he hit bull's eye one hundred times in a row and was a good distance away for every single shot._

_They walked for a bit while Dwight was looking at the forest floor looking for any sign of deer tracks. He saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. He wasn't a tracker. But Sherry was there so he decided to fake it until they reached something that looked like a good sign._

_Sherry broke the silence. "See anything?"_

"_Honestly?" Dwight asked over his shoulder. "Sherry, I don't know what I'm doing. I really don't know how to track."_

_Sherry stifled a laugh. "I figured as much."_

"_Really? How so?"_

"_Because we circled that tree about five times now." She said as she pointed to a tree._

_He looked at her with feigned shock. "I don't know what's worse. Me pretending to know how to track or you silently laughing at my lack of ability."_

"_We'll call it even. How about that?" She said._

"_Oh, wait. I see something." He said as he looked at the mud behind her. "Look! Deer tracks! Ha!" Dwight said._

_She surveyed the spot Dwight was looking at. "What do ya know. Those are actual deer tracks." They pointed east. "Let's say we follow a bit."_

_They both stayed crouched down as they looked closely at the deer tracks. The tracks turned south and they followed. "I don't about you but I'm feeling pretty cool right about now." Dwight said._

"_You should. I would have never imagined this is something I would have ever done in my lifetime." Sherry commented._

"_Oh yeah? I take it your family wasn't huge on hunting?" Dwight asked._

_She didn't answer. _Typical, _Dwight thought. "Then how are you so good at shooting?"_

_Still no response. This is how their conversations would go. They would talk business for the group, have a good laugh, Dwight would ask about her life before and then silence ensued. They got quiet again as they looked to the tracks. The deer came to a more rocky area and they lost the deer tracks. They backtracked and headed northwest to get back to their camp. "Well, I'm feeling less cool since we didn't find a deer."_

"_Don't be so hard on yourself. We'll get better at this as time goes on." She said._

"_This hunting trip just had everyone in high hopes." Dwight said. "Hopefully someone else finds something tonight. Just to keep that feeling going."_

_Sherry stopped. "Do you see that?" Sherry was looking at the ground. "I don't think those are our tracks." She pointed to the shoe print left in the mud._

_Dwight compared his feet and Sherry did as well. "No match." He said._

_Sherry got up from her crouched position and they instantly heard a gunshot. Dwight looked around the forest and saw Dean, Takuya and Haruki crouched nearby as Haruki had a smile on his face. Until he saw Dwight. And then his face wore a horrified expression._

_Dwight looked at Sherry who appeared to be in shock. Dwight didn't even notice that she stumbled forward a bit from the blast. She brought her hand up to her shoulder that was instantly stained with red. She looked from her shoulder to Dwight and started shaking. "I just got shot." She said quietly. She repeated it several times in disbelief._

"_Sherry!" Haruki called. She looked to him with wide eyes. "Oh no! Sherry! I thought you were a deer." Haruki said in a panic._

_Her pupils started to dilate as she looked to everyone around her. "Shit, Haruki. You shot me!" She muttered. She started to stumble around on her feet._

"_Sherry." Dwight said as she caught her before she fell flat on her face. He turned her over and examined her wound. He started to panic from seeing so much blood. "I need some kind of cloth for her wound. Do you guys have something?"_

_Dean handed his bandana that usually stayed on his forehead but today was in his leather jacket. Dwight took it and wrapped it up as tightly around her shoulder without cutting off circulation._

"_Did the bullet go clean through?" Dean asked._

_Dwight looked to the other side of her shoulder. "No."_

"_We have to take her back to camp. We need to get that bullet out and her wound clean. Terri was a nurse before this. She can help us." Dean said quickly as he ushered Takuya and Haruki towards their camp._

_Dwight looked at Sherry and saw her eyes rolling behind her head. Her skin started taking on a paler complexion. "Sherry! Dean what do I do? She's starting to lose consciousness." Dwight panicked._

"_Pick her up and try to get her to engage in conversation while we walk to camp!" Dean yelled._

_Dwight carefully scooped her off the ground and carried her. She started to sob in her state of shock. Dwight never saw her cry. "Sherry, you are going to be okay. Do you trust me?" Dwight said softly._

_Sherry responded in muffles under her breath. Blood was soaking Dean's bandana and blood started to drip on Dwight's hand making it difficult to keep a grip holding Sherry._

"_What was that, Sherry? I couldn't hear you." Dwight said as if he was speaking to a five year old. Her complexion was turning from her regular olive skin tone to extremely pale._

"_I said that I trust you." Sherry said quietly but audible enough that Dwight could hear it over Haruki's bawling up ahead. He knew that it was an accident but until Sherry was feeling better, he knew it was a better idea to avoid him. Otherwise he would punch him for all the emotions that Haruki seemed to cause._

_They finally made it to camp. Which was a good thing because periodically Haruki would look behind to Sherry and starting crying even harder. Dwight would just roll his eyes at how little Haruki knew about survival. The woman who was shot in the shoulder was crying less than he was._

_Jason's family was kneeling over a deer carcass as Jason gutted it. In any other situation he would be extremely happy that their deer hunt was sort of a success. Dwight wasn't even hungry anymore._

"_Terri!" Dwight yelled holding onto Sherry as he ran over to her tent. "Get your medical supplies-NOW!"_

_Terri looked up from the deer and instantly put a hand to her mouth. "Was she bit?"_

"_No, some asshole shot her." Dwight said without trying to sound nice for Haruki's sake. Which in turn make Haruki cry…again._

_Terri disappeared into her tent and came out with medical supplies. She went straight into Sherry's tent of which Dwight was already there and proceeded to put her down as carefully as possible. He could see Haruki in the middle of the camp wailing. Takuya then zipped up the tent door only sensing Dwight's increasing enrage._

_Terri looked at the wound and instantly pushed down with some towels. Sherry yelled instantly and went to slap the source in her delusional state. Dwight caught her left hand before it struck Terri and held it in his hand tightly. Her color took a green form now. "No arteries or veins were hit. Which means that she'll live. We just need to get that bullet out of there. It's deep and I don't have all the things that we need to keep her comfortable. Dwight." Terri said as she rested a hand on her forearm. He looked from Sherry's face to Terri's. "It is going to be extremely painful for her. But if I don't get the bullet out now, she'll just bleed more or her wound will be infected." They both looked to Sherry who started to shake violently._

"_What's happening now?!" Dwight yelled._

"_She is experiencing shock! It'll die down. We just have to wait." Terri said._

_Sherry continued to shake for what seemed like centuries to Dwight. Then she stopped as her eyes closed. Dwight feared the worst. "Sherry!"_

"_She's fine. It's better for her to be still and unconscious for this next part." Terri got some tweezers from her bag. Dwight felt like he was going to be sick._

_Just then the tent door opened and the little ones Teegan, Troy, Teresa and Jenna came into the tent._

"_Kids! You don't want to be in here right now!" Terri scolded._

"_Dad told us to come in here. Walkers are coming!" Teresa said quietly. Dwight listened and heard their growls descend upon their camp. Followed by sounds of knifes swooping from his group._

"_With Haruki's cries, I'm sure a lot are coming." He seethed. It just felt better to blame him for every bad thing that was happening._

"_Kids! I want you to either turn your heads or close your eyes." Terri said as she looked to Dwight. He nodded and held her arms down to her sides as her head laid on his lap._

"_Teresa. I need you to get a needle and thread ready to go. Can you do that honey?" Terri asked._

"_Yes." She said timidly as she reached for her mom's supplies. _

"_This won't be easy. There will be a lot of blood so it'll be a lot of searching for the bullet before I find it and pull it out. She might wake up while I do this." They continued to hear knives penetrating rotting flesh outside the tent. _

"_You damned bastards aren't gonna touch my deer!" Jason yelled almost in a happy tone. He was rough around the edges but seemed to thrive in this new world. _

_Terri cleaned the area as much as she could and held the tweezers close to Sherry's shoulder. She took one deep breath and the tweezers plummeted into Sherry's wound. Dwight watched Sherry carefully for any signs of consciousness. "The bullet is deep but I touched the end of it barely. If I am to get a good grip on it, I need to make her entrance wound larger." Terri sighed._

"_How? Why?" Dwight asked._

"_It won't be pleasant. I have to force it. Which means more stitches. I have to because I don't have a good grip on the tweezers with how far it is. Here I go." The tweezers plunged deeper into Sherry's shoulders followed by Terri's fingers and knuckles._

_Sherry started to scream as her body started to flail only making her shoulder wound more open. The kids started to weep as they kept their backs facing away from Sherry._

_Dwight wrapped one arm around her arms to hold them still as his other hand flew to cover her mouth. Tears fell from her eyes. Dwight positioned himself to lie next to her to keep her legs from kicking everything around her as he threw his legs on top of hers to hold them still. He couldn't believe what adrenaline was giving her._

_Terri's fingers left Sherry's shoulder with the tweezers and a bullet. She looked mildly triumphant until Sherry started to make gagging noises. "Oh uh!" Terri said as she looked for something. She saw a trash bag with Sherry's belongings and quickly emptied it. Dwight positioned Sherry to sit up and Terri put the trash bag underneath Sherry's head just in time for her to empty whatever was left in her stomach._

_Dwight held her hair behind her head as Terri held a cloth to Sherry's shoulder. With her other hand, Terri wiped the sweat from Sherry's forehead. "Teresa, is the thread ready?"_

"_Yes." She said quietly. She gave her mom the thread. _

"_Thanks honey." Terri looked to Sherry who looked somewhat lucid._

"_Sherry. I just took the bullet from your shoulder. Now I need to stitch you up. I may have opened the wound up more. That's what made it extremely painful. This part won't be as painful but it'll sting. After that, it'll be routine checkups and a lot of rest. The worst is over. You did so well."_

"_Thanks." She mumbled. Dwight smiled at her sarcasm. He was glad that she was responding._

"_We'll keep the trash bag here just in case."_

_Sherry indeed needed the trash bag a couple of times during the stitches. The tent opened and Jason smiled. Dwight could tell by his face that the walkers didn't touch his deer. That made him relieved._

"_Haruki would like to speak to you two. Kids, you guys can come out." The kids didn't wait to be asked twice. They were more than happy to leave the smell of puke and blood behind._

_Haruki entered slowly. "I have come to say that I am sorry. Today I have learned that refusing to learn to use a gun for so long not only brought danger to myself but brought danger to my group. From now on, I will learn everything there is to know about survival. I will no longer complain about our life. I am forever in your debt."_

"_You didn't mean to shoot me, did you?" Sherry said roughly. She winced as Terri punctured her with the needle._

"_No! No, I didn't!" Haruki exclaimed._

"_Then there is nothing to forgive. Accidents happen." She said as she looked at him in the eye. Sherry was giving him a look that Dwight thought was both terrifying and almost attractive. Haruki nodded and tried to smile only to make her stop looking at him that way. At least Dwight wasn't the only one that found Sherry to be intense._

"_Thank you, Sherry." He said and left._

_Terri finished with knotting the stitches and cut the thread. "You are finished, my dear." She said sweetly. "Please rest up a bit. We have real food tonight if you are hungry."_

_Terri left and Dwight suddenly felt awkward being in the tent alone with her. "I'm going to help out with cooking the deer. Will you be okay?" He asked._

"_Yeah. I'm a little tired." She said she tried to tie up the trash bag but she made a face when she moved her shoulder. "Can you take this away? The smell just makes me want to yak again." She looked at him apologetically._

"_No problem." He said and took the trash bag away from her. He left without another word and closed the tent door behind him. Haruki and Takuya were making one fire while Jason's family and Dean were making another. Dwight assumed one fire was for the walkers that invaded their camp and the other was for the deer. It ended up not being a bad hunting trip._

…

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Yolanda said as they walked past the white fence in Negan's front yard.

Sherry changed her clothes to her combat boots, brown pants and a navy zip up hoodie that she rolled the sleeves up to her forearms. She wore her long hair in a side braid as she looked from one to the street to the other. She smiled as she enjoyed not being cooped up in the house.

"It's a wonderful day. Today we are going to find an escape route." Sherry said quietly so only Yolanda could hear.

Yolanda remained quiet and looked as if she had something to say but thought better.

"What do you want to say?" Sherry asked.

"Sherry, we have to be smart about this." She said as they walked towards the front gates. "There will be alarms everywhere that alert any guards."

"Alarms?" Sherry said but then saw the gates. The gates were made up of walkers. All contorted to not even let sunshine on the side of the gates depending on the day. "That is actually an ingenious idea. Which sucks for us."

"So if we get too close to the gates—" Yolanda started.

"The walkers start to growl very loudly." Sherry finished. "This is why herds aren't an issue here. The walkers that are roaming can't pick up our scent. They hear the gates growl but move on when there isn't any activity."

"Yes. It will be very difficult to escape here." Yolanda said in a defeated tone.

"There has to be a weak spot." Sherry said confidently. "Let's search the whole perimeter." They reached the gates started walking around. Sherry looked up to see Dwight at one of the top of the buildings. He gave one glance back and went back to business of scouting and spoke to the man next to him who Sherry recognized as the man that was beat up by Negan a couple of days ago.

Yolanda and Sherry continued to walk the perimeter of the gate. Yolanda seemed to expect Sherry would survey a particular place but she just continued to walk. She noticed the guards would look at her every time she would so much as glance at the gate.

Sherry was surprised at the circumference of the town. She would sometimes look towards the town and be surprised that she hadn't been to that area of Sanctuary yet. Most of the homes looked to be in fine condition. She wouldn't say that Sanctuary was the cleanest place she had lived in but in comparison to what her group saw before, this place did have a quaint look to it.

The gate continued to growl at them as they walked. Suddenly Sherry stopped in her tracks and looked at one spot at the gate. The guards looked at her suspiciously but said nothing. Yolanda looked at the guards and to Sherry with fear written on her face. Sherry knew her inspection of the gate looked irregular from what other people in the community were doing. So she stood up and walked the gate some more.

They passed children singing in a building. The building the children were inside looked like it used to be a library. She looked at the women who were with the children. It was a school. Sherry smiled a bit knowing that Sanctuary was more than just its leader. It was a place that gave Teegan, Troy and Jenna a regular life. _Too bad my view is still slightly tainted, _she thought.

They also passed an old post office that was remodeled to be a little hospital.

"Terri is in there." Yolanda said matter-of-factly. "They have three doctors on hand here. Terri is one of twelve nurses. The doctors are training them all for the jobs that they do if anything happens to them. That way we aren't without."

"Why does there have to be an under belly to this place? Besides the leader, this place is nearly perfect." Sherry said sadly. "They even have a shooting range where you can practice and not worry about walker herds."

"Yes it is sad."

"That's the draw though." Sherry said.

"What do you mean?"

"'Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.'" Sherry quoted solemnly as she noticed they finally made it back to the front gates. "Benjamin Franklin said that. Meaning that this place protects us from what is out there but at what cost? Sure we didn't choose to stay here but every second we waste our time here is a second that we forget who we are. We are still prisoners here. Don't you ever forget that, Yolanda." They walked back towards the white fence in front of Negan's house but instead of going inside the house, they opted to sit on the patio furniture on the porch.

"I have to say this, Sherry. But the guards looked at you for a long time when you were checking the gate in that one area. You looked pretty obvious."

Sherry smiled. "Good. Do you think they will put more guards there just in case?"

Yolanda stared at her in disbelief.

"The place that I want to escape out of is not the place that I looked. That area behind the library? No guards on top of that roof because it's too slanted. The area around it has overgrown plants we can easily sneak out without any attention towards us. We have to tell the rest of our group what are plan is."

"What happened to waiting and getting Negan's trust?"

Sherry fidgeted in her seat. "I don't want to wait that long."

Yolanda looked out at the street before them obviously worried.

"What's wrong?" Sherry inquired.

"I'm worried about this, Sherry. What if we get caught?"

Sherry sat and thought about it. "That is a possibility. Yolanda, before we even try this, I will make sure the plan is flawless so no one has to get hurt."

Yolanda smiled assuredly. "I know you will. And we will try our best to get you out of this place."

"Maybe we'll find a place like this. There has to be other's like this."

Yolanda smiled again. "I hope so."

Sherry smiled back but was mildly annoyed. Yolanda was acting as if she didn't want to leave. That bothered her. But she felt bad asking this of her group at the same time. She knew this was the most safe that they felt since this whole thing started. But she would take care of them. She swore to take care of them once they were out of this place. Things grew complicated in Sherry's mind the more she thought about it. Perhaps asking Yolanda to help at a time where nothing bad has happened at Sanctuary for a while was a bad time to ask her to think of an escape. She needed to engage her group at a time where they would be more convinced. _No, that thinking is just deceitful, _she thought. _Let them know that you are thinking of an escape and that it's there when they are ready to take it._

Sherry sighed deeply. "Let's forget about this and enjoy the day a bit? Any good reading from the books at the library?"

"Yes there is some good stuff there." Yolanda said as she stood up.

They walked together towards the library and talked about things they missed before the outbreak. However Sherry couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal towards Yolanda wanting to stay here. She didn't say it but Sherry could sense it. Inside it only made her feel sick.

…

Dwight watched Sherry walk around the town below his building that he was assigned to guard near the gates. Dwight knew by the look on her face that she was concentrating. She was studying everything around her. This didn't look that obvious to the guards around Dwight. The thing that gave her away to Dwight was her eyes. Her eyes were taking in every single detail about the gate, the buildings around it, the street etc. She only didn't look obvious because her gaze didn't linger on one thing longer than a second.

"Negan sure picked a nice looking bitch, didn't he?" a guard named Alex said behind Dwight. Dwight tensed a bit with Alex' words and just looked at him with a disgusted look. Alex was a man that was in his 40's but aged 20 years older due to too many drugs. It didn't help Dwight's unease

"Too bad Negan isn't into sharing. I'd show her a good time –" He was cut off short by a sudden jolt that struck him. He fell to the ground immediately in shock. Alex looked around and saw a bolt sticking out of his upper thigh. He looked to Dwight who looked him directly in the eye while his crossbow was at his side. It was no longer loaded like before.

"Must have slipped on accident." Dwight said nonchalantly. He didn't care to feign innocence. Alex' comrades knelt down to assist him and looked to Dwight in disbelief. Some of them actually laughed at the situation.

"You son of a bitch!" Alex said as a friend help him down the stairs. He saw Alex and his friend hobble down the stairs and towards the hospital as Alex continued to curse Dwight multiple times. Dwight smiled smugly.

"That was a good one, son." Hansen said. "Alex was always a talker up here. No one is going to miss him."

"It was like I said. An accident." Dwight said.

"Sure it was." Hansen shrugged. "Question is, what was the thing that got you riled up?"

Dwight said nothing and looked beyond the gates from hearing cars coming their way. He loaded his crossbow and aimed it at the road that led to the Sanctuary gates. The cars came closer and they all put their weapons down. It was only Negan and his men returning. Dwight immediately became disappointed. He hoped that he would be gone for a lot longer.

Some guards opened the gate as the truck in the front of the rest of the cars came through. Dwight noticed all the supplies in the back. Ammo, food and other miscellaneous things such as plates, towels, blankets and small generators.

Another truck come with a whole thing of gasoline. Another had water. Dwight couldn't help but wonder where all of this came from.

"Gentleman! We have alcohol!" Negan said as he stepped out of the front truck. Some guards cheered as they descended upon all the new things. Dwight walked that way and saw all the guards put their new things in the building that Dwight came from.

Negan saw Dwight and walked towards him. "Next week, I'll be going on another errand. I want the men in your group to come with us. We'll see you in action."

"You missed some action here, Negan." Hansen said behind Dwight.

Negan chuckled a bit and opened a beer in his hand. "Yeah? What happened?"

"Dwight shot Alex in the leg with his bow." Hansen said with a smile.

Dwight cringed inside waiting for Negan to yell in his face. Instead Negan threw back his head and laughed.

"Why wasn't I here for that?" Negan said as tears almost rolled down his cheeks. "Next time save your anger for when I'm around, okay?"

"Oh it was an 'accident,' boss." Hansen said as he bunny eared the word accident.

Negan threw Hansen a beer and got another from the truck and threw it to Dwight. "Of course it was." Negan said and walked closer to Dwight. "I knew you would fit in around here."

Dwight feigned a smile and walked back up to the top of the building to stand guard. He opened the beer and sat on the lounge chair.

"Sherry!" Negan yelled below. Dwight immediately stood up and look at the town beneath him. Sherry had a book in her hand and was standing next to Yolanda.

He ran up to her and gave her a bear hug. Negan swung her around as her toes came off the ground. She reluctantly held onto him as he swung her in a circle. He let her down and kissed her.

They walked shoulder to shoulder towards Negan's house. _One of these days, _Dwight thought, _there will be another accident._

…

**Author's Note – That's chapter five! Review if you loved it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note – I apologize that it has been awhile since my last post. I just wanted to make sure I took the right step for my next chapter and its character development. Even though I don't get paid for fanfiction, it's still important that every scene is important for character development.**

Chapter 6

"_Turning into a leftie, I see." Dwight said nonchalantly towards Sherry as they walked in the middle of the road, their group not far behind._

_Sherry looked at her new weapon and smiled. It was a machete she found a couple of days ago and kept with her. "The gun hurt like hell with my shoulder the way it is. Plus, it'll help me save up on ammo. I'm still collecting for when I'll use my shotgun again."_

_Dwight noticed her looking down as she walked. Her health was better but this was the first time they made a trek since she got shot a week ago. Once again, their little camp was overrun. But they weren't without casualties. Jason and Terri's oldest son, Todd, was eaten alive by walkers. By the time his heartbroken father got to him, Todd was at peace._

_Teresa looked pale. She was very close to her brother. Everyone could hear her whimpers every so often and they knew what she was thinking of. Dwight pitied the girl. To be growing up in a world like this. Jason and Terri were in the back of their group walking on the road. They were silent and said nothing to each other as they thought of sweet memories of their son. Terri wanted to go back and give Todd a proper burial but Dwight and Jason fought her that it wasn't safe. "She wouldn't be ready to see what's left of him," Jason said to Dwight quietly._

_The mood was dark but one small thing ringed throughout the group. Haruki saved Jenna and Yolanda's life while defending them from the walkers at the camp. It wasn't enough to make the spirits happy but Dwight and Sherry no longer looked at him as a liability._

"_Do we need to change your wounds or are they okay?" Dwight asked her._

"_Yeah we'll change them when we make camp tonight. I don't want to bother Terri with it so I need your help mostly. It just feels wrong to ask her favors right now."_

"_Understandable." Dwight thought to himself as he looked at the road in front of him. "Sherry?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_We have to discuss Teresa." Dwight looked to her as she stumbled behind them._

"_Why? What's wrong?"_

"_Look at her. She doesn't look good."_

"_She just lost her brother, Dwight. It's not that abnormal." Sherry said._

"_Yeah she looks sad. She just looks sick. Terri's mind is somewhere else. It's not a surprise that she hasn't noticed."_

_Sherry spared a look behind her and looked at Teresa. She walked in a pattern that didn't look in as much grief as she was in pain. Sherry scanned her body and noticed a rip and fresh blood coming from Teresa's jeans. _

_Sherry stopped and walked towards Teresa. Teresa didn't make eye contact with Sherry. Terri and Jason walked up to the women and gave Sherry a questioning look. Everyone in their group looked curious as to what was going on._

"_Did you know?" Sherry asked Jason and looked him in the eye._

_He started to weep along with his wife. Teresa fell to her knees and put her face in her palms while sobbing uncontrollably. Haruki and Takuya held the younger boys at bay and tried to distract them with other trivial things like if they could jumpstart the car that was twenty feet away. The boys were more intrigued with the distraction than the crying from their family._

_Sherry walked to Teresa and fell to her knees as well. "We aren't going to hurt you, Teresa. Why didn't you tell us that you got bit?"_

_Teresa looked to her parents and looked down to the concrete road underneath her. "Todd left yesterday. I didn't want to leave too."_

"_We wanted her to last as long as she could." Jason said as he held the back of his wife's head while she cried into his shoulder. _

_Sherry looked to Dwight. He gave her a weak smile that gave her no answer as to what they needed to do next. She got off her knees and walked ten feet away and beckoned Dwight to follow. Jason & Terri hugged Teresa as Dwight and Sherry looked on. _

"_She's going to die soon." Sherry said. She put her hand to her forehead and a sob broke from her lips. "We need her to rest comfortably somewhere. They need to bury her it can't be like Todd. They need this to be a better ending."_

_Dwight looked to her and looked to the family. "Where do we go? We are in the middle of nowhere. If we are to get somewhere soon, we need a car."_

_Just then they head an engine moan and shouts from the younger boys as they high fived Haruki and Takuya who were near the driver seat of the car with wires in their hands. The car was an airport van._

"_Thank God." Sherry said and walked over to them. "We need that car guys! Thank you so much!" She Haruki stood and looked to Sherry with wariness but she only hugged tightly. He was shocked by the gesture but took it as a form of forgiveness._

_Jason and Dwight helped Teresa into the car as everyone piled in after them. _

_Takuya got into the driver's seat and smiled. It was the first time he drove since the outbreak._

_Dwight and Sherry sat next to each other in the back. Sherry admitted it felt good to sit down and relax rather than walk._

_Walkers started emerging from the forest surrounding the road and Takuya started driving._

_Sherry didn't mean to fall asleep but woke up to the van stopping in front of a house. It was dark outside but the house looked untouched from the turmoil that came with this world. Everyone started pouring out of the car. Sherry lifted her head and saw her head rested on Dwight's shoulder. Her mouth opened and her face turned bright red. "I am so sorry." She didn't wait for a response and climbed out of the car. She looked at Dwight briefly and saw the smile form on his face with a small chuckle escape his lips. She didn't care to dissect his reaction. Rather she was mortified that fell asleep on him. _That must have seemed so corny. He must think I'm some sort of chick that purposefully sat next to him to have a dumb moment like that, _she thought to herself. _That must have looked so juvenile.

_Dean and Jason broke the door down as Teresa rested between Haruki and Terri's shoulders. Once it opened Dwight, Sherry and Takuya ran in with their weapons ready. Nothing came. Dwight whistled in amazement. Sherry was asleep when they came upon the house but it was gated. She saw the enormity of the house when walking towards it but inside, she couldn't believe to grandeur of the place. Never was it even ransacked. It was deserted. No one has touched this place in a while. It was the perfect place to camp. Once the mansion was secure, Haruki and Takuya scouted the entire premises for walkers outside. _

_Jason and Terri carried Teresa to the biggest bedroom upstairs. Their whole family would sleep in that room and wait for Teresa to pass. Teegan and Troy rejected the idea. They didn't want to see their sister die. Sherry offered to have the young boys bunk with her and they accepted the idea. Sherry found a pile of UNO cards and started shuffling while they looked at her happy with the distraction. They looked tired to Sherry. Physically and emotionally._

_Dwight came and kneeled down next to her. "Dean and Hannah found some canned goods. We'll be eating like kings tonight, boys!" Dwight addressed the boys. They smiled big as they thought of eating. Their group was far from starving. But knowing they were going to eat another night was a welcome blessing. Dwight smiled widely at the boys and looked at Sherry shuffle the cards. _

"_What are we playing?" He asked._

"_UNO. The best card game ever." She said._

_Dwight made a face. "I would say it's a little overrated."_

_The seriousness in her face surprised him but made him smile regardless. "You will take that back."_

_He scoffed. "Have you ever played Phase 10? Much better of a game."_

_She made a noise. "I call bullshit on that. I've played Phase 10. I almost fell asleep after listening to the instructions."_

_Teegan and Troy snickered. "You said a swear," Troy giggled._

_Dwight laughed while Sherry looked like she got her hand caught in the cookie jar. "I shouldn't have said that in front of you boys. Your pure little ears almost exploded because of me."_

_They laughed again and Dwight & Sherry joined. They all played a few rounds of UNO and Sherry saw the boys enjoy themselves since the first time she met them. She was glad to take part in it._

"_Do you have brothers and sisters?" Teegan asked them._

_Dwight looked to Sherry and responded first. "I do. I have one older brother."_

"_What was his name?" Troy asked._

"_John." Dwight looked off into the distance. He was lost in the memory of whatever._

"_Is he alive?" Teegan inquired._

_Dwight looked at his cards and pretended to be more interested in them than the conversation. "No. He died a little less than two months ago."_

"_What happened?" Teegan asked again._

_Dwight looked to the boy and smiled undeterred by the question. It was innocent enough. "He got bit." Teegan and Troy looked at their cards regretting bringing up the question. "It's alright though. He's in a much better place right now. It makes me feel better knowing he's doing better than I am."_

"_Like heaven?" Troy asked._

"_Yeah. A lot of people don't believe in that kind of stuff but it makes me feel better believing it instead of him not existing at all if that makes sense to you boys. I believe your brother is with my brother."_

_They smiled at the thought and looked to Sherry. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"_

_She shook her head. "No. I was an only child."_

"_Where are your parents?" Troy asked._

"_Last I heard they were heading to Michigan. I hope they made it."_

"_Do you think they will try and find you?" Teegan asked._

_Sherry let out a deep sigh and shook her head. "Michigan and Georgia are far away from each other. They knew I didn't stay where my dorm was. They wouldn't know the first place to look. My dad would have wanted to find me but I know that his top priority is keeping my Mom alive. For all they know, they probably think I'm dead." Sherry laid down her card. "UNO."_

_They threw their cards at her as for Sherry's family rules. The winner risked vicious paper cuts from cards._

_Dinner was ready and they all ate and whispered amongst each other. They knew what was going on upstairs but no one addressed it for the sake of Troy and Teegan. Terri and Jason stayed with Teresa as they managed to try and make her feel as comfortable as possible under the circumstances._

_After dinner, Dwight found a first aid kit with plenty of gauze inside. He motioned for her to come inside his small bedroom behind the kitchen. She took off her jacket and shirt with Dwight's assistance but kept her tank top on. She sat on the bed and he sat next to her and took off the bandages. _

_She winced slightly when he would accidently graze her shoulder as he unwrapped her previous bandage. "Sorry." He muttered. _

"_How long do you think it will take for Teresa to change?" Sherry asked him._

_Dwight looked at her in the eyes. She could never think of a moment when Dwight was this close to her. There was that shoulder ordeal a week ago where he apparently carried her to the camp but she had no recollection of it. She couldn't help but realize how cute he was but immediately tried to think of something else. She didn't have time to think like that anymore. _

"_She could change any second. I didn't tell the boys but I waited for him to change. He was dead for a two and a half hours before he woke up again."_

"_What did you do?" She asked._

"_I shot him in the ear. I couldn't leave him like that. We buried him and went our way."_

"_We?"_

"_My college friends and myself. We made it out of Athens together and picked up my brother in Atlanta before they bombed the place. It was a mess there."_

"_Do you know what happened to your parents?"_

_He shook his head and smiled. "No. They died five years ago. I didn't have to worry about them."_

_She frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."_

"_I'm not. They didn't get to live to see this." He tapped her bandage up and rested his hand on her shoulder._

_Jason came in through the entryway and looked at them on the bed. His eyes were swollen from tears and he looked extremely fatigued. "Teresa wants to say goodbye to everyone." He said in a gruff voice._

_They slowly walked up the bedroom and paused at the doorway. Teegan and Troy gave her one last hug and walked towards them and out of the bedroom._

_Everyone was in there except Jenna and Yolanda. They waited for their goodbyes until Sherry could take over watching the boys._

_Sherry sat on the bed next to Teresa. "How are you feeling?"_

"_I feel terrible." She coughed until she couldn't breathe. Everyone waited and stood cautious until she stopped. Once she finished her episode, she smiled at all of them. "Don't worry. You guys still don't look appetizing."_

_They all smiled at her gruesome sense of humor. Teresa looked to Dwight. "Troy and Teegan said that you shot your brother after he got bit."_

_Dwight nodded sadly. "He didn't become one of them. That was my only concern."_

_She looked to her parents and then back to Dwight. "Can you do that for me? I don't want my parents to deal with it."_

_Jason sobbed but managed to mutter, "We already discussed that I could do it, honey."_

"_I don't want you to remember me that way." Teresa said._

_Jason still looked unconvinced. Sherry knew that he almost wanted to give her peace from the way she was suffering now._

"_Dean and Hannah. You reminded me of my grandparents. It was nice to pretend that you were. It made us seem more like a family."_

_Everyone smiled at the fact. Dean and Hannah didn't seem to mind. "Yeah? What is everyone else then?"_

_Teresa thought for a second and smiled. "Yolanda is my aunt. Jenna is my cousin. Haruki and Takuya are my adopted uncles. Dwight and Sherry are my fun aunt and uncle that would let me stay up past my bedtime and watch rated R movies."_

_They all laughed with tears in their eyes. Everyone seemed satisfied to pretend with her. It was almost comforted and confirming that they were slowly becoming a family unit after being together for so long._

"_I want you to all to take care of my family like they are your family. Please make sure that they are safe. Can you do that?"_

_They nodded and admired the wisdom coming from this teenage girl. Sherry marveled at her need to have her family taken care of over her obvious pain._

"_Sherry?" Teresa said._

"_Aunt Sherry?" She corrected._

_Teresa smiled. "Aunt Sherry? How old are you?"_

"_Twenty-two."_

"_Did I miss out too much on being a teenager?"_

_Sherry shrugged and looked at the window on the far side of the room. "No. All the things teenagers rave about are completely overrated. I'd say spending a month camping with your family is better than any of those things."_

"_Walker herds and all?"_

"_It's not considered camping without them."_

_Teresa smiled and her eyes closed. Her breathing slowed and she was sound asleep. Terri cried into her daughter's hands as Jason faced a corner and wept silently to himself. Dwight didn't care and reached to give Jason a bear hug. Jason took the form of comfort and returned the gesture. Sherry rested her hand on Terri's head and stroked her fingers through her hair. Dean and Hannah huddled around Terri and rested their hands on her shoulders. Everyone seemed like a family in that moment. _

_For now, Teresa was only sleeping. But somehow they all knew the chances of her waking up were slim._

…

_Sherry woke up the next morning in a bedroom she shared with Teegan, Troy, Jenna and Yolanda. The room consisted of two large queen size beds and a room connected to it that had bunk beds for the boys. Jenna and Yolanda shared a bed while Sherry had a bed all to herself. Sherry counted the times they have run into mattresses. Each time she was grateful. Even more grateful for the mattress than she was for the food they found._

_Breakfast consisted of cereal with dry milk. It didn't taste like real milk but it was a comfort food that everyone missed and no one was going to complain about. Everyone became silent when Jason came downstairs holding Teresa in his arms. Terri walked behind him as they walked quickly outside. Sherry and Dwight followed them. Sherry looked to Yolanda to tend to the boys. Luckily, they were in another part of the room and didn't see their family make their descent._

_Sherry and Dwight walked behind Jason's family and saw him heading to a willow tree by a small pond. He rested Teresa's body there. She was dead. Jason stood over her body with a knife in his hands. He kneeled over her determined but then started to shake. The knife crumpled out of his hands and into the dirt as he sobbed uncontrollably. His wife hugged him and they stayed in each other's arms. _

_Dwight and Sherry stood motionless until Sherry walked towards them. She stood a foot away from them for a moment and then reached for the knife. Jason looked to her in near gratitude as her silently begged her to do the job he couldn't do._

_Sherry looked to Teresa then to the knife. She closed her eyes and prayed for strength. _It's a mercy kill. Suck it up for Jason and Terri and deal with the consequences later, _she thought._

_With that, she quickly leaned over Teresa's body and plunged the knife in the back of her head so as to keep her face looking like she was only sleeping and not dead. She stroked Teresa's check and walked away. Tears started to form as she walked past Dwight and into the house. She started to hyperventilate when she reached her room. She knew she didn't kill Teresa but it was the first time she ever stuck a knife into someone who she knew. It was someone that she considered a friend. The same girl who helped assist in her shoulder "surgery" a week ago. And she was gone._

…

_A light knock on the door later in the day. The door open slightly and Dwight came inside the room. His hands had dirt on them but he quickly put them in his jean pockets._

"_We dug a grave for Teresa. We are going to have a funeral for her if you would like to come."_

_Sherry wiped at her eyes and stood up from her bed. "Yeah, I would love to come."_

_They walked towards the willow tree where the grave was made. Sherry slowed her pace at the sight of the grave. Perplexed at first, she saw there were two graves instead of one. But then she remembered the lack of a funeral for Todd. It then made since. Teresa was already buried. The fine soil was already placed on top and made a beautiful mound. There were rocks that were put at the base of the soil that separated the dirt from the grass. She could see the boys and Jenna collecting more rocks for the rest of the grave as Yolanda and Hannah took yellow petals from a nearby rosebush and showered them upon both of the graves. Dean, Haruki and Takuya were making dinner for everyone after the funeral. All Terri and Jason had to do was watch in amazement as their "family" was more than happy to help them in need._

_Sherry smiled through tears at the peaceful scene. The grave and willow tree rested near a small pond. To her it looked like something out of a fairytale._

_She felt Dwight's fingers touch hers in comfort. She looked up at him and he smiled softly and squeezed her fingers in a gentle grip before he let go and went to the area with logs stored for firewood. Sherry walked over to Terri and hugged her. After which she hugged Jason and then held Terri's hand. _

_Terri looked to Sherry and smiled but then changed her look to horror. "Your bandages! I forgot to change them last night, didn't I?"_

_Sherry shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We already took care of it."_

_Terri's lip quivered at her overwhelming gratitude. Sherry hugged the woman again. They didn't let go instantly but instead were in need of the comfort._

_The funeral itself was beautiful. Everyone said their favorite memories of Teresa and Todd. Jason and Terri even went into detail about their lives before this. Their family was from Florida. Teresa dreamed to work at Disney World one day and dress as a Disney Princess. She wanted to be Cinderella. Todd and his dad both had hopes of a full ride scholarship to Notre Dame. Todd wanted to be a football player and his favorite movie that inspired him was Rudy._

_Teegan and Troy recollected how much they looked up to their brother and admitted how much they tried to annoy Teresa and felt bad for it now._

"_Todd Ryan McCoy was 18 and Teresa Janelle McCoy was 14. They will be remembered." Terri said and put roses on their graves. Everyone followed suit with their roses in their hands._

_Hannah spoke up. "Not that there isn't enough roses on these graves but my family had a tradition to all throw handfuls of rose petals. We would watch them fall gently on the graves and remember who they were and where they are now. Yolanda and I collected some rose petals from the rose bush behind the house. These roses were red and white. If you don't mind, I would like to start the tradition here as a moment to celebrate their lives. Is that okay?"_

_Terri smiled widely obviously in love with the concept. She nodded. Yolanda presented the basket and put it at the feet of Jason and Terri. Everyone grabbed handfuls of rose petals and held them until given permission to throw them. _

_Jason pitched in. "On the count of three. One – two – three!"_

_Everyone threw their rose petals up and immediately went to grab for more. The boys and Jenna ran in between the graves and danced as the rose petals fell on top of them. The adults laughed and were thankful for the idea. The air was lighthearted now. Todd and Teresa were at peace._

_Once all the rose petals were gone, the ground was covered with colors of red, yellow and white._

_Everyone ate and looked towards the grave as the sun started setting. Life seemed to be about perfect with their family._

…

"We have to leave Sanctuary." Dwight said to his group. "If we stay we are going to forget who we were."

His original group except for Sherry were huddled in his living room discussing their next step. The children were upstairs playing quietly.

Terri spoke up. "I agree with Dwight. We need to find a way out of here soon."

"Dwight. Since we have been here, we haven't needed to worry about living another day." Jason piped in. "As long as we follow orders, Negan won't harm us."

"You really believe that?" Dwight asked him. "You really think that Negan is a man of his word?"

Jason was about to say something but then looked to Dean. He closed his mouth and apparently thought better of it.

"If that shithead was a man of his word, then where is Hannah, Jason?" Dwight asked.

"Sherry was being stupid. If it weren't for her, Hannah would still be here." Jason shrugged as a matter-of-factly.

Dean looked at him wide eyed. "You honestly don't believe that do you?"

Jason instantly regretted what he said. "No. I don't know. He did ask her once and she refused. She just wasn't playing smart."

"No, she was only looking out for your ungrateful ass." Takuya said quietly. Everyone became silent at his statement. Mostly because Takuya wasn't the kind of person to say anything bad about anyone.

"I agree with Jason." Haruki said.

"So do I." Yolanda said.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. Sherry is in Negan's house right now for you assholes! And you are going to let her do all the dirty work to keep you guys alive?" Dwight said. His voice was raised. Yolanda put her head down.

Terri stood next to Dwight. "I agree with Dwight on this one. Sherry has helped us too much. It would be a disservice to her if we just stand here and do nothing."

"I say we find a way out as well." Dean said.

"Me too." Takuya said.

Yolanda, Haruki and Jason stood tall and didn't move or say anything that would suggest that they changed their mind.

"Yolanda, I know that you are only agreeing to stay because Jenna is safe here. But I promise that we can find somewhere else. Some other community that we can try and become a part of. Just not this place."

Yolanda nodded with tears in her eyes. Dwight knew that Yolanda was already bending backwards and knew of his and Sherry's secret communications. She only wanted to not awake Negan's wrath. And Dwight understood that.

"That seems a little selfish of you, doesn't it." Jason said. He said it as a sentence and not a question. Only a conformation to his thoughts.

"Speak up, Jason. If you have something to say, say it." Dwight said straight up.

"Well, you are asking us to move our families into the unknown. You don't even know if there is another place like Sanctuary. This is the first community we have ever seen. And you want us to leave for a promise that you can't keep."

"It's not a promise I can't keep because I know there are other communities nearby. The men I take watch with confided to me that Sanctuary taxes other communities in return for 'protection' from the walkers."

"Then why would they take us in if they knew we escaped from Sanctuary? They would just bring us back so as not to be on bad terms with him."

Dwight ran a hand through his short curly hair. "Look man, I don't have all the answers but I just want to say that Sherry wants to get away from Negan. We should help her. If we stay, we die. That was Negan's bargaining chip. If she isn't here, we're dead."

"Again, it's selfish of you to ask us that. We have no choice in the matter."

"And that's what I am saying. Our choices are taken away because of Negan's rules. We can't make decisions without one result of being dead. That's not selfish of me or Sherry to ask. Even if we are out on the road, we have more choices to make. Sure it's more of a sacrifice but we will have our freedom again."

"Or you are just jealous of Negan." Jason said.

Dwight didn't hesitate to stand head to head with Jason. Over the months, they bickered like brothers but at the end of the day were good friends. Only they could speak to each other with what truly was on their mind. "Want to run that by me again?"

"Sherry isn't in your bed. She's in Negan's. You want her out of this place so you can finally seal the deal."

With that Dwight punched him squarely in the nose. Jason reeled back into the wall and shook his face. He stood up and ran for Dwight where Takuya and Dean held him back. Terri stood in between Dwight and her husband. "No, Jason! You go home and think about the horrid thing you just said." Terri said with venom in her mouth.

Jason didn't stay a second longer and walked out of the room with his hand covering his face while blood spilled from between his fingers. He opened and slammed the front door. So much so that a painting fell off the nearest wall.

Everyone stood there in shock as to what just happened. Dean and Takuya let Dwight go as he sat down on his couch trying to breathe slowly.

Yolanda was the first to speak. "I only need to know that whatever plan you and Sherry conjure is going to go off flawlessly. My worst case scenario is us being caught and staying here with even less freedom than we have now. If I knew that we could get out of here easily, I would wholeheartedly be on your side. I only know that Sherry is walking on eggshells right now. I can only imagine what it would be like for her after an incident like that."

Dwight looked down at his feet. "I know, Yolanda. We will make sure this plan goes off without a hitch before we even try anything. I promise."

She smiled kindly and walked out of the room to check on the kids.

"Haruki." Dwight said as he looked towards him.

Haruki's head was down but he slowly looked up.

"Why don't you want to go? I get Jason and Yolanda's reason. But what about you?"

Haruki shrugged. "My excuse is a shallow one. I'm tired of running from those things. I like being protected here. I don't really care if some choices are taken away from me. At least I'm alive."

Dwight could have punched him then but he had no reason to like he did for Jason. In a backwards way, Haruki didn't care about Sherry's whereabouts with what he said. And that infuriated Dwight.

"Well at least you know it's a shallow reason." Dwight stood up. "I'm going to go get some air. This conversation is over for now. But it's nowhere near finished."

…

Dwight stayed on the porch outside. He didn't want to think of anything except for when he would be able to see Sherry again. That was the only thing that gave him comfort anymore.

He turned to a noise that came to his left. It was Jason. Jason walked up to Dwight slowly with his hands in his front pockets. They stood there saying nothing looking at the road in front of the porch.

"I'm sorry, man." Jason started. "That was one of the lowest things I have ever said in my life. I know that she doesn't deserve to be where she is and it wasn't her fault for Hannah's death. This is all just so confusing. Decisions were so much easier to make with the world we used to have."

"Every decision we make will be tough from here on out, Jason." Dwight said. He sighed for a while and thought about what he was going to say next. "Look, I get it. With all the shit that your family has gone through, I understand why you don't to leave. But you can't believe that your family is any safer here than out there. We made it just fine with zero casualties for a good four months. And we could've had zero casualties even longer than that if we didn't run into Negan. Admit it."

Jason sighed and shrugged. "You're right." He reached into his pocket and got out a cigarette and then reached into another pocket with a lighter. "I'm with you now, Dwight. Just tell me what the plan is and our family will see it through."

Dwight put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

They stood in silence as Jason smoked his cigarette. "So did your parents lose a bet or something?"

Dwight furrowed his brows at the question. "What?"

"Your name. Did your parents lose a bet?"

He laughed. "No. They willingly wanted to name me that. It was my Grandpa's name."

"Very nerdy if you ask me. What were you doing before all of this?"

"Now I don't want to tell you." Dwight said with a smile on his face.

"Were you a nerd?"

Dwight looked at the road. "I was graduating with a PhD in Computer Science at UGA. I think that qualifies as a nerd."

Jason laughed out loud. "Computer Science? I would have never guessed with your crossbow."

Dwight looked down ashamed. "My crossbow was an upgrade from my archery class that I took in college. I saw the crossbow and wanted to use that instead and my professor let me because I was one of his best students."

"An archery class in college? That is too good. What brought that up?"

"You're going to make me sink even lower, aren't you? I was the local fan club president of Lord of the Rings and all of us in the club took the class. Legolas was my idol."

"I don't even know who Legolas is but I would say that you have adapted well from your archery class. You can kill a walker pretty well with that thing."

He smiled. "Yeah. I'm not that same kid anymore. He's gone. I don't think he's coming back."

They later went in and ate dinner together as a family. They all agreed that they missed a key member of their group and made a pact to try and escape for her. Dwight couldn't help but notice the apprehension in Haruki's eyes when they all agreed to escape but thought nothing of it. He couldn't stay if they were gone and he didn't care to accommodate for him.

Life seemed hopeful that night. They were going to make a plan. And then they were going to escape.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sherry and Yolanda were sitting in the living room of Negan's house reading books. They already ate dinner without him which was unusual. Negan regularly came home at seven to eat dinner and Yolanda was free to go take care of Jenna after that. It was at least eleven o'clock going on twelve.

"Glad we picked up some books at the library." Yolanda said while she held her book close to her face.

"If you want to, Yolanda, you can just handcuff me and go. That way you can spend some time with Jenna." Sherry suggested.

"Knowing Dean, he already tucked her in himself. Besides, I don't want to do anything without Negan's permission." Yolanda reasoned.

"Treading lightly, I see." Sherry observed.

"There is nothing wrong with kissing up to authority sometimes." She said with a smile on her face.

They were quiet for a little bit as they read their books. "I have to tell you something, Sherry." Yolanda said as she put her book down.

Sherry also put hers down and gave Yolanda her full attention.

"A couple of nights ago we had a meeting with Dwight. He told everyone of your plan to escape sometime soon."

There was silence until Sherry urged her on. "And?"

"Everyone is in." Yolanda said but frowned immediately. "That isn't all I had to tell you. When Dwight asked us at first to be part of it. Some people disagreed and wanted to stay." She put her head down and looked at her lap. "I'm sorry, Sherry. I didn't want to escape at first. Can you please forgive me?"

Sherry felt the lump in her throat form before she could even react another way. She knew it was an enormous possibility that the people in her group wouldn't want to leave. They were safe here. She felt guilty for asking them to leave. This place wasn't perfect but who was she to uproot them from the best thing they have had since this whole thing started? _There was always the abandoned mansion, _she thought. She remembered the gated home where Jason & Terri's children were buried. But even then the walkers found them. And didn't go away.

Yolanda was still looking for an answer from Sherry. Sherry swallowed her grief at their predicament and gave her a small smile. "There isn't anything to forgive, Yolanda. I understand your reservations. But we can find somewhere else to live past these gates. I believe that. Please know that I feel bad asking you guys to leave this place. But you have to know that it isn't right to be here. Do you know that?"

Yolanda nodded as the front door opened. Negan shushed himself and giggled. Sherry could smell him before she saw him enter the living room.

Negan gestured to Yolanda. "What are you still doing here? Three ways are accepted if you're up for it." He tried to contain his laughter but burst into tears at his own joke.

They both stood in great unease. "I'll be fine, Yolanda. If you want to leave, you can."

Yolanda stayed there and folded her arms. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you here all by yourself." She whispered to Sherry so only she could hear.

"Fuck, you heard the woman. Get out! Go home! We didn't want you here anyways. Aint that right, twat?" Negan yelled.

_Now I can say I've been called that before, _Sherry thought but was still appalled at his foul mouth. "Yolanda. Please go." Sherry warned.

Yolanda slowly walked past Negan eyeing him from her peripherals. Negan swatted Yolanda's butt while she passed and she walked a bit faster until she was out the door.

Sherry covered her mouth. She was in shock that he just touched Yolanda like that.

Negan looked to her in mild annoyance and waved her off. "Pshaw. Like you haven't thought about swatting Yolanda's ass. Everyone has. Don't give me that look."

Sherry still didn't know what to say or do. He stood in front of the doorway. Her only way out. Her heart started beating fast. Not since Hannah's death did the mood feel so perilous.

He walked towards her slowly and she circled his movements and kept her distance. The coffee table stood right in the middle of them. He was still in front of the door. Suddenly, he jumped over but tripped over the coffee table. She took the opportunity and ran towards the doorway. His hand grabbed her ankle and she fell into the front room. He never let go of her ankle as he climbed his way directly on top of her.

"You like it rough too? I wouldn't have guessed." He whispered as his lips lingered around her neck.

She kneed him in the balls and head butted him with her own head. He let out a breathless scream and almost laughed at her fight. She immediately felt hazy and could feel blood drip onto her face. He was bleeding pretty well from his nose but she could also feel her own blood from her forehead seep down into her hair.

He rolled off of her as he continued to laugh. _What the fuck is wrong with this guy, _she thought. She started up the stairs.

"Wait! Sherry! I'm sorry!" Negan said as he stood up and grabbed for her left arm. His grip was firm as she tried to break away. He looked at her apologetically. "I didn't mean for you to feel scared. I was just having a little fun is all." With his other hand he tried to touch her breast.

On reflex, her right hand shot up and slapped him in the face. His blood from his already bleeding nose spattered all over the wall by the stairs. He looked to her with shock and smiled. Then he punched her in the eye.

…

"What really happened?" Terri asked Sherry.

Sherry winced at the alcohol that Terri rubbed on her forehead.

"You'll need about six or seven stitches, by the way." Terri said almost like a mother would. They were in Sherry's bedroom. Negan called a nurse but by the time Terri got there Negan was already passed out in his own bedroom. No one was even able to answer the door because he already handcuffed her. So Sherry just yelled downstairs doubting that it would wake Negan. He was passed out from his drunken state.

"You saw the stairwell when you walked up here. There was blood all over the wall. I fell down the stairs. Simple." Sherry said as Terri instructed her to hold a piece of gauze on her forehead to apply pressure while she searched for her others items in her nurse bag.

"Except I know that you're lying." Terri said with eyebrows raised.

"How?" Sherry challenged.

"Yolanda told me that Negan came home drunk and spanked her in the ass. She also left you alone. I don't need any other clarification." Terri sympathized.

"I fell down the stairs. I'm fine." Sherry said harshly.

"Why are you defending him?" Terri asked as she hooked the thread into her round needle.

"I'm not trying to defend him. I'm just telling you the truth." Sherry breathed heavily as she knew the stitches were on its way to her forehead.

Terri instructed and all but pushed her to lie down. "You're initial reaction will want to scrunch your forehead. But that will make my job a lot easier. On the gauze was a numbing medication but you'll still feel the needle. Just try and relax your face."

Sherry closed her eyes and pretended that she was somewhere other than where she was right now.

"Sherry, your poor face. The bruise looks worse when you close your eyes." Terri said not expecting her to answer as talking would make her move her face.

Sherry felt the needle penetrate her head and continued to try and relax.

"Yolanda said that she told you about the disagreement we all had a few days ago. You know what I think? You're only trying to cover up for Negan so we think he's being good to you. That way we can justify living here if he is treating you well. Well guess what, missy, we voted unanimously. We want you out of here. We want out of here. Maybe since your conversation with Yolanda you changed your mind about leaving but we're set on it. We're going. So this 'I fell down the stairs' charade isn't fooling anyone." Terri whispered this all just in case they heard Negan wake up across the hallway. "And sweetie, I'm a nurse. Almost every wife that has been beat by her husband used the excuse that she fell down the stairs. I'm not stupid."

Sherry sighed as a response. She didn't know what to believe anymore. She didn't know which answer was the right one. Leaving was a good option but it could lead to a lot of deaths from their heavily guarded camp. Staying was a good option because the children were safe here. Leaving was a bad option because the world outside was unknowing. Staying was a bad option because Negan pretended to be noble when it came to Sherry's virtue. However, she had the feeling that his patience would run dry soon.

"Why does life have to be so complicated nowadays?" Sherry muttered and tried not to move her lips too much.

"You can talk regularly. I just finished." Terri said.

Sherry sat up and Terri held a mirror to her face to look at the stitches. She did and she saw her face. Her eye was nearly black from where he punched her and knocked her out cold. The stitches looked rough but she was sure were nowhere near as bad as they were when it happened.

"Thank you." Sherry said.

Terri smiled. "And your shoulder? Is it still fairing nicely?"

"Like brand new. Thanks to you." Sherry said quietly.

Terri smiled at her reassuringly. "We love you, Sherry. But we aren't leaving just because of you. We're leaving for us. Don't think you are our burdens. But I will say even though we are leaving for ourselves, we know you have provided for our little group so well. And our group doesn't like one of its leaders being punched in the face."

Sherry and Terri hugged and she was off. Sherry heard Negan snore loudly and worry that she wouldn't be able to sleep but once her head hit the pillow she was out from sheer exhaustion. It was a very long night.

…

Terri just closed the door to Negan's home and started walking off the porch and towards the fence. She saw a silhouette at the fence but didn't worry as it was her escort home.

"How is she? What happened?" The silhouette asked.

She got closer and saw Dwight's eyes wider than she had ever seen them before. He was angry and terrified.

"She is fine. I gave her some stitches and she'll recover nicely. No broken bones." She whispered and they started walking to their homes.

"Terri, please tell me what happened?" Dwight pleaded.

"Well she didn't admit the truth to me. We only know the setup from what Yolanda told us. Negan came home drunk and was touchy feely to Yolanda. Yolanda left and then thirty minutes later, one of Negan's men knocks on my door and tells me to come to the house. I go and knock on their door. No one answers except Sherry yells for me to come on in. She's handcuffed to her bed and she tells me that she fell down the stairs. Her forehead is literally open and she has a nasty bruise on her face." Terri said slowly. She looked to Dwight who was seething. "Do you really want to hear what I really think happened?"

Dwight was quiet but then nodded. "Please."

"I think Negan tried to force himself on her and she fought back."

"I was hoping your answer would be different than mine." Dwight said with his fists clenched.

"I'm sorry. I know it's tough to hear. But I won't sugar coat it for you." Terri said soothingly as she tried to touch her forearm.

He jerked it away and walked ahead. She knew he was only lashing out at the situation and not her. Terri only let him get his anger out.

"Fuck!" He spat as he paced back and forth. He put his hands to his forehead and knelt down in the middle of the street and breathed heavily. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

His hand covered his mouth and he stood back up. "She tried to cover it up?"

"Judging by our conversation with the group, I think she only wanted us to believe that she was okay and that Negan is still treating her with the utmost respect. And I think out of all the people in the group she doesn't want you to know."

"Me? Why?"

"By any regular person's terms, you are her boyfriend. She only wants to protect you from the truth. Do you blame her?"

He shook his head.

They walked the rest of the way in their own thoughts.

Dwight went straight home after taking Terri to her house and crawled in his bed. For hours, he tried to fall asleep but could only think of in a couple of hours, he would see Sherry's scars for himself. He pondered how he would make Negan pay and give him the exact same scars that he inflicted on her. He didn't even feel guilty for knowing that he would enjoy every minute of bestowing each blow. He would revel in it.

…

_Walkers swarmed around them as Sherry and Dwight hid under an old bridge. Any second the walkers would pick up their scent. _

_Dwight looked to Sherry. "There is only a dozen. We could take these guys on."_

_Sherry glanced above their heads as they heard the walkers shuffle on the wooden bridge. "Yeah. Okay."_

"_Think you can handle yourself with your shoulder?"_

_She held her machete up. "Don't worry. I got this." She didn't mean for it to sound cocky but she ended it with a wink for humor's sake. He smiled and held his crossbow up. "Draw them to you. You get the ones closest and the ones that are straggling behind, I'll get before they even get near you."_

_She ran out ahead of him and started yelling. She kept moving to keep them in a straight line and not to swarm around her. She climbed out of the shallow ravine in silence as she now got their attention and didn't want attention from any others roamers nearby that they didn't know of. _

_It was only Dwight and Sherry for this supply run. The others were tired and it was only a couple of days after the funeral. Sherry didn't want to bother them with saying that they could use more weapons. So they volunteered to go by themselves. The kids would have fun swimming in the small pond today while the parents watched and relaxed for once. It was paradise there._

_As much of a paradise it was, Sherry and Dwight felt antsy. They wanted to move and keep their strength. It almost felt nice running around a ravine with walkers chasing her. Sherry could almost feel herself smiling with adrenaline surging through her body._

_She reached the bridge and jumped back down into the ravine that was only five feet below and waited underneath the bridge. The walkers clumsily followed and fell on their rears or knees while Sherry heard the sound of breaking bones in the process. The still tried to attack her with flailing hands but she and Dwight waited until all of them fell into the ravine. Then they opened fire. Sherry hacked at all of the walkers in front of her as Dwight shot from on top of the bridge. Blood spattered everywhere as she continued to unleash her anger towards this creatures. They ruined her life and any hope of seeing her family again. Any sadness she felt during the day almost felt better when she was able to kill them. She loved it._

_Dwight came down and started hacking at them with his knife. It was a bloody mess when they were finished. Dwight looked to Sherry and smiled wide. Sherry looked puzzled by the look on his face but then smiled at his own face. It was covered in blood._

"_This is sick. Why do we think this is remotely funny?" Sherry asked as she tried to mask her giddiness that she felt._

"_Man, our sense of humor is dark nowadays, isn't it?" Dwight said as he laughed a bit. "Seriously, you look like Carrie on prom night."_

_She rolled her eyes. "That's so gross. You'd think this ravine would have some water in it or something. I feel the strange need to clean my face off now."_

_They walked in the ravine for a bit and saw that it led to a lake. They knelt near the water's edge as they cleaned their faces._

_Sherry made a pool of water with her palms and sprayed it on her face. She scrubbed and could feel the muck on her. Disgusted, she rubbed faster. She looked to Dwight and saw that he was staring at her with a smirk painted on his face. _

"_Hold on." He said as he walked over to her. His index finger touched her right eyebrow as he appeared to try and get a smudge of walker blood out. "You missed a spot."_

_She turned away while her face turned red. "That was so cheesy and you know it." She laughed and stood up._

_He chuckled and started following her into the woods. "Well, it was worth a shot." He said._

_They walked next to each other and several minutes came upon a road. They walked for a good forty-five minutes and then read a sign that said, _"Hitchhiker's May Be Escaping Inmates."

"_Doubt it." Dwight said as they passed it. _

"_There should be a town nearby if there is a prison around here, right?"_

_He nodded. They continued walking and finally saw outskirts of a small town. "Back to where we were at the bridge. It was very impressive."_

_She looked up at him and smiled. "I told you I could handle it."_

"_It was the way you moved. It was almost graceful." He said and looked away while his face turned red._

_She smiled knowing she caught him embarrassed with what he said. "Graceful, eh?"_

"_I know, it sounded really weird when I said it." He said defeated._

_She felt bad for him for trying so hard. "Fine. I'll give in. I have been in ballet lessons since I was three and continued with it even in college."_

_He walked and kept his eyes on the road. "So you were a ballerina before all of this happened?"_

"_Try and not make it sound too condescending, okay?"_

"_No, it's not a put-down. I am just impressed. You could walk on your toes and everything?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Pointe is the correct term."_

"_I think that's really cool. What school were you going to?"_

_She shook her head and smiled. "Nope. I have already said too much."_

"_Wait, what?" Dwight asked. "Is it a secret school run by the illuminati?"_

_She nodded. "Oh yeah. They secretly started the outbreak as well." She feigned shock and covered. "Oh my gosh, I wasn't supposed to say anything."_

_They both laughed as they came across a gun store. "Perfect! Just what we needed."_

_They went inside and scoured the place only to pick up a few bullets. Other than that, the place had already been ransacked._

"_That sucks. I was hoping for something more out of this supply run than only a four bullets." Dwight said as he continued to scout around._

"_I don't mind. I like seeing places that have been ransacked. It means that we aren't the only ones alive still." She said._

"_That's a very optimistic way to look at it." Dwight said._

_She smiled and looked out the window from behind the counter. Her smile instantly went away as she motioned for Dwight to get behind the counter with her. He looked out the window and saw the herd coming from the road ahead. He jumped over the counter and they knelt down._

_The walkers got close to the store but so far none of them entered. They head the snarling get closer. But they didn't move on. They just stayed there meandering around the small town. From the look that Sherry got, there were hundreds outside the store. _

"_Looks like we're going to be here awhile." Dwight said and sat down on his rear instead of his knees. Sherry quietly did the same as they kept hearing for the walkers and their whereabouts._

"_It's going to be a long night." Sherry added._

…

Negan instructed thirty men to come with him on their supply run including Dwight's group. Dwight, Jason, Dean, Haruki and Takuya ended up in the back of Negan's truck as he drove past the gates.

Dwight was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to stay behind this time. Dwight and Sherry continued to write letters every day but it wasn't enough. After he saw Sherry's face bandaged up, he wished that he could comfort her in the only he could with Negan gone. She still insisted that she fell down the stairs but Dwight could see the truth in her eyes.

Dwight looked to his "family." They were all armed to the teeth. He had a feeling that they were there to encounter the other communities to collect Negan's relentless taxes.

Negan already told them the community that was under his protection. It was known as Hilltop. This was after Dwight was told that they weren't even in Georgia anymore. He was in disbelief that their group travelled so far up north. They passed North and South Carolina without even noticing it. He realized that it was possible since their group made a note to stay away from the roads even if it had road signs. Roads meant other people and other people could have met trouble. They were glad that they didn't stumble upon others in their six months alone but he couldn't wait to tell Sherry that she lived in other places besides Illinois and Georgia.

"What do you think we will be doing?" Dean asked as they continued to drive down the road.

Jason shrugged. "I have a bad feeling about this supply run altogether. Kind of wish that we weren't chosen to be a part of this."

They drove for a good half hour until they saw a fence occupied by watchmen. They quickly opened the gate and let the slew of trucks in. The trucks parked inside near the gate and everyone started to get out. People were on standby as Negan's men started throwing empty baskets towards them and laughing as they hastily scrambled to chase after the baskets that were being thrown. Dwight couldn't help but notice that Alex was one of the men taunting the Hilltop community. He shook his head as the idiot would wince in between insults from his leg.

"Not the smartest SOB." Jason said next to Dwight. He smiled in return of his comment and they both jumped out of the truck.

Negan looked at his men and picked Dwight from the crowd. "Have your men help Hilltop load the supplies in the trucks. Jason and you will come with me."

Dwight turned to Dean and his nodded that he heard what Negan just said and they went to go pick up the baskets on the ground. Jason and Dwight walked towards a mansion that stood in the middle of the community and entered inside.

"Gregory!" Negan belted out. "C'mon, Gregory! I saw the supply pile. It's pretty low. What gives?" He nonchalantly started swinging Lucille around as they walked into the living room.

A man with balding hair started down the stairs and had his hands together. He looked to be in his fifty's, Dwight guessed and was short.

"Supplies were tight, this week, I know. It will be better next week."

"Yeah? And why aren't the supplies good enough this week?" Negan countered.

"Our members have been preoccupied with herds that have come to our gates. Herds that we couldn't ignore. And as you know we don't have proper weapons to protect ourselves with."

"Excuses, excuses, Greg. Go fetch that one man. You know, the guy guards the front of the gates."

Gregory stood still and gawked at Negan's request.

Negan looked at him and spoke back to him as if he was speaking to a child. "Go – get – your – man – at – the – front – of – the – gates."

The man scurried away and Negan laughed at the man's mousiness. "What a cunt, am I right?"

Jason and Dwight felt awkward being there. Dwight's gut feeling echoed what Jason said before they got there. He had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen.

Gregory returned with the man that Negan mentioned. Really the man looked a little bit older than a teenager.

"Gregory tells me that you have been fighting herds lately." Negan said as he paced around the room.

The man nodded slowly while shaking.

"Apparently, it affected my supplies. Did you see the load of supplies? It's shit, really. A small amount of shit. You are the guard at the gates. So herds are your area of expertise. However, if your job is affecting the jobs of others in the community, that makes it my problem. See where I'm going with this? 

The man shook his head. Negan quickly grabbed for the back of the man's neck and pushed him to the ground.

"Gregory didn't want to tell you this so I'm going to have to do the dirty work. You're being relieved of your job. Hilltop no longer needs your services. Oh and you are going to die in one minute." Negan shook his head in disgust. "What a pussy, Gregory is. We have clean up all of his messes, don't we?"

Negan looked to Dwight and pointed to the man. "Shoot him in the back of the head with your crossbow. Then we'll be on our way and out of this place."

Dwight looked confused as he gazed from Negan to the man on the floor crying uncontrollably. "Sir?"

Negan gestured towards his crossbow and towards the man. "Shoot him."

Dwight didn't make a move to deliver his order.

Negan held Lucille up and pointed to Jason with it. "Shoot him or I'll kill Jason."

Jason looked at Dwight with the same look that Hannah had when she heard Negan give a similar ultimatum to Sherry. Dwight didn't doubt Negan and stepped closer to the man and took aim. _Jason is a good man and a father. If I can prevent his death, I will do it, _Dwight thought. _This man is a good man too._

Dwight swallowed and kept his aim at the man's head. He couldn't think about it any longer. His finger pulled the trigger on his crossbow and the man's cries instantly became silent.

Dwight took Jason by the forearm and guided him in front of him to leave the room. "We're done here, right? Finish your shit. We'll be in the car."

They started walking towards the trucks as Dwight swung his crossbow behind his back.

"Dwight…" Jason started.

Dwight stopped him in midsentence and held his shoulders. "He would have killed you, Jason. Terri and the boys wouldn't have you anymore."

"I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about you! Dwight, you just killed a man in cold blood back there."

Dwight breathed slowly and deeply and then looked in Jason's eyes. "It's fine. I'll be fine." He walked towards the trucks again as Jason stood there watching him. He reached Dean as the man smiled at him. Dwight couldn't even look him in the eye as he reached for a basket of eggs and started loading them in a van.

"Dwight!" Negan yelled. Dwight looked to see Negan holding the beheaded man while holding the bolt that was still attached to his skull. The townsfolk screamed as the shouted the man's name. Dwight tried to not listen to their cries. Knowing the man even had a name made his stomach turn. Negan threw the head to Dwight who didn't even bother trying to catch it as it rolled to his feet. "Well, at least take the arrow out." Negan said as he stepped into the truck and closed the door behind him.

Dwight spared a look at Dean, Haruki and Takuya who in turn gawked at him with their mouths open. Haruki started to puke at the sight of a recently beheaded man. Jason reached them and whispered no doubt what happened and they looked at him with sympathy.

Dwight reluctantly put his foot on the beheaded man's face as he tugged his bolt out. A woman stood near and cried uncontrollably. Dwight couldn't help but notice the woman was older and bore a similar resemblance to the man…the boy would be a better term. Dwight blinked back several tears as he jumped into the truck behind Negan.

Life would never be the same again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Dwight and his men remained silent as they drove in the back of Negan's truck. Every so often one of the men would glance at Dwight's direction but quickly looked down and pretended to be preoccupied with something else.

With every second that passed, the more Dwight felt his stomach rot with guilt. As much as he tried to ignore the cries of the community of Hilltop, the boy's name echoed in his ears to the point that was all he could hear. _Drew._

The noises around him seemed to mesh together as he thought over and over again what he had done. He could never go back from this. That moment as brief as it was would be a part of him for the rest of his life. Sure, it was in the name of the greater good by protecting his friend but the boy wasn't an evil person. Not like Negan.

"Dwight." He heard someone say but didn't respond. He felt it inappropriate to respond. Dwight was someone else now. He didn't even know who he was anymore.

He wondered if Negan would have him do that again. The second that thought entered his mind he already knew the answer. Negan had leverage over his head. He could command him to do the most heinous things and he would do them to protect his family. Even after the events that just passed moments before, he would do it again. _What's wrong with me?_

The name Drew wasn't so much of a whisper anymore as it grew into loud shouts in his mind. He was starting to get a migraine from hearing that name in his head. He couldn't shake it out but instead let it burn in his mind. He let the guilt sink in only to make him feel some humanity that was left in him. He hoped to keep that. He didn't think he could much longer.

What's worse is that he didn't hear the name Drew in his mind with his own voice. The voice belonged to presumably Drew's mother. And Dwight felt that kill him inside.

"Dwight!" He heard again. This time he looked up to see all of the men looking at him with worry written on their faces. He looked from one person to the other as he felt beads of sweat roll down his face for the first time.

"Are you doing okay, son?" Dean asked, his voice filled with concern.

He blinked and brought his sleeve to his face to wipe the sweat away. He hoped no one noticed his hand shook violently in the process. "I'm fine."

"You look the opposite of fine. If you need to talk, let us know. We're here for you." Jason said with intensity to get his point across.

Dwight shook his head. "I don't need to talk. I'm fine."

They looked to each other and gave each other questioning looks. Neither of them knew what to do at this point. From the corner of his eye, he could see Dean mouth to Jason, "What do we do now?"

He saw Jason shrug and look at the scenery around them. Dwight felt the car slow and heard the growling in front of them. When he looked up he could see the gates that protected Sanctuary. The gate opened and their trucks filed inside while they closed the gate back up.

They all climbed out of the truck with somber looks on their faces. But Jason, Dean and Takuya all put their hands on his shoulder at one time in silent comfort. Haruki still couldn't touch Dwight. Dwight briefly remembered hearing gagging noises on the ride home and guessed it was Haruki trying not to puke.

Negan walked up to Dwight and the guys. "Get the supplies out of the trucks quickly and fill three trucks up with gas. We're heading out again?"

"Where are we going now?" Dwight asked with a mild tone of tiredness. He didn't ever want to go on a supply run with Negan again.

"Your men and you are staying here. You were impressive today. But you just aren't ready for what the other half of the supply run. Therefore, you are staying here."

Negan left and Dwight breathed a sigh of relief. The men did as they were told and moved the supplies to the building next to the gate. Takuya and Haruki filled the cars with gas and they were off just like that.

"Did they say how long they would be gone for?" Dwight asked Jason.

He shrugged. "I heard some guys make bets. All of them said in between three to five days." Jason looked to Dwight. "I would take this opportunity to go see her. If you won't talk to us, you should probably talk to her about what happened today."

Dwight blinked and looked at the dirt beneath him. "I will most definitely talk to her. But I don't know if I can say what I did."

"Maybe not yet. But you need to talk to somebody. It sure as hell won't be healthy if you keep it to yourself."

"Thanks, Dr. Phil." Dwight said sarcastically.

Jason patted his shoulder again. "It might seem out of place but I am grateful for what you did. A part of me feels guilty for even saying that but I'm glad I get to live another day to be with my wife and sons. Even if it means that someone isn't able to tonight."

They gave each other a side hug and parted ways. Dwight would wash up and try and get some rest. He knew who he was going to see tonight. And he already felt much better knowing that.

…

Sherry liked to walk around the town and into as many buildings as she could. She knew it would be a good hobby to have every time Negan left Sanctuary. Her dad didn't teach her everything about being a cop but she learned how to be observant. When she navigated her way through the town and looked at every building, she saw places to hide that were less guarded, guns that were also less guarded and also places to snipe if necessary. Sherry knew that if they were to escape, they would have to do it quietly. But if their situation got sticky, they could have the upper hand.

Sherry had doubts about their escape plan. She knew it wasn't perfect yet. They wouldn't act until it was. It seemed that Negan got them to stay where they were because he was a great manipulator and used people against others. She knew that the only way to get out was to play his game and stoop to his level. Things could get violent but she was prepared.

Dismay was written on her face as she was searching one of the taller buildings by the court house. She could hear the gate opening and Negan's trucks coming inside Sanctuary. They were only gone for several hours. Instead of greeting Negan like she knew he would have liked, she observed from the window of the building. She made sure to keep herself obscure to not draw attention to herself. She could see Dwight and Negan talking to each other. Negan had a smug look on his face while he spoke to Dwight who mostly looked down at the ground. She was a distance away and couldn't hear their conversation but could sense something was wrong with Dwight.

Dwight and the members of their group unloaded supplies while she saw the other member's gas up the trucks. When all their tasks were done, Negan and a dozen of his men were off but Dwight and the group stayed behind. This time she felt elated as the gate closed creating as much distance from her and Negan as possible. She hadn't really spoke with him since his drunk incident. He apologized for it but Sherry knew they were empty from sorrow he could have felt on her behalf.

She looked away from the window and walked in the middle of the empty room. There was zero furniture in the place. Only white walls and a wooden floor. As she walked, the floor creaked. She walked over to the corner of the room and looked at the floor beneath her. She reached for the back of her jeans and produced a pocket knife that she found earlier that day. She knelt and started cutting at the edges of one wood plank. She knew that this would be a long process but regardless it was worth it to have a place for weapons when they escape.

Negan wasn't stupid. All the guns that were lying around before they came to Sanctuary were now locked up. But they weren't necessarily the most secure in their location. They were all with the supplies that they got outside of Sanctuary. It wouldn't be easy getting in there but it was possible. Just one pistol at a time. She only needed one to end Negan's life anyways.

She thought about the last thing she said. _How barbaric. Is that what this world has come to? To live you have to kill…and some people just don't deserve to be around anymore._

She wiped at the sweat on her forehead as she tried to coax the wooden plank from its secure spot. It took less time than expected as she grabbed for the side that she had been working on and pulled tightly. She ripped it out the rest of the way and looked at her new hiding spot. She placed the pocket knife inside and put the plank above it. She swept the sawdust that came in the process of cutting out the plank with her hands and moved it evenly around the room. Now it just looked like dust collected in the room and less like foul play.

Satisfied with her work she walked down the stairs of the building. She looked at her surroundings before emerging from her stash spot and started to walk on the sidewalk. She walked towards Negan's house where Yolanda probably had lunch ready. This time she had a skip in her step. It wasn't a good plan in motion yet but it was something that she had to look forward to.

…

"_I miss my laptop." Dwight said quietly as they sat stranded in the middle of the gun store. The herd still didn't leave the small town and lingered. The sun was starting to set and it was getting darker inside but Dwight and Sherry didn't dare turn on the flashlight to draw attention to themselves._

"_That's the thing you miss the most?" Sherry asked._

"_Well yeah. I did all of my work on that thing. Everything I needed was there. My music, my work, ways to stay in contact with clients, updating websites that I managed…" His voice faded. "Unfortunately none of those things really mattered in the scheme of things."_

_Sherry looked at the wall in front of her as she rested against the counter behind her. "I miss dancing. It didn't really give me any skills for this world but that doesn't mean that it was pointless. It was a hobby." She immediately corrected herself. "No, it was more than that. I mean, I was in dance practice for a good seven hours a day. That was my lifestyle."_

"_I wish I could have seen you dance. I'm sure you were really good." Dwight tried to lighten the mood from her somewhat melancholy tone. "Plus seeing you in a tutu would have been priceless."_

_She rolled her eyes. "Oh brother." They heard scraping at the window. They both tensed and chanced to look over the counter as stealthily as they could without being noticed to investigate. A walker was just passing by the store. An exposed piece of bone that protruded from the walkers arm scraped against the window as it walked past. _

_They both sank back down relieved that their hideout wasn't found. Sherry breathed a quiet sigh of relief._

"_Do you ever just look at those things and want to stab the hell out of them?" Dwight asked._

_Sherry nodded. "Every time I kill one of those things, I feel like I am avenging the world that was before all of this. It's stupid but it doesn't make me the least bit guilty."_

_He smiled in her direction. "I do the same thing too."_

_She looked at him and smiled back. "You are so cheesy."_

_He acted offended. "Why would you say that?"_

"_Just because we think the same thing when we kill biters, doesn't mean that we are bosom buddies." Sherry said as a matter-of-factly._

_He smiled again. "Bosom buddies? I like the sound of that. What does that entail?"_

"_You pervert." She laughed quietly. "You made something innocent into something gross."_

"_What is so innocent about bosom buddies?" He asked with incredulous face. Sherry didn't mind. She enjoyed seeing him this animated._

"_You haven't seen Anne of Green Gables?" She asked._

"_I haven't even heard of it." Dwight admitted._

_It was her turn to give the disbelieving look. "Seriously? Seriously?!"_

_He nodded._

"_Anne of Green Gables was my favorite movie growing up. We were supposed to read it for sixth grade but I got really bored with the writing and wasn't really into reading. So my mom bought the movie and we watched it. After that, I read the book as I viewed the movie in my head. It played out like the movie. So it became more enjoyable. And that's how I grew to love reading."_

_He was quiet for a moment but then opened his mouth to say his thoughts out loud. "I'm sorry. What does that have to do with bosom buddies?"_

_She gave a breathless laugh. "Anne becomes friends with a girl named Diana. And they do everything together. Anne gets Diana into trouble and Diana's mother tells her not to be friends with Anne because she is a bad influence. They then vow to be bosom friends 'as long as the sun and the moon shall endure.'"_

"_Wow. That is very poetic and not perverted. You have proven me wrong." Dwight said. His voice held no sarcasm. Instead he just looked at her with mild amazement._

_She smiled at him. "Good. Get used to it."_

…

_They both drifted off to sleep as they felt the walkers wouldn't bother with the store. Even if they did, they could outrun them. Sherry was the first to awake from her sleep. She couldn't stand another minute pretending that she was comfortable sleeping on the floor. Plus the sun was rising nicely inside the store. She hated sleeping when it was light outside. Sometimes they had no choice but she would never get any rest no matter how tired she was. Only certain circumstances if she had an injury or was sick._

_Sherry looked around and saw Dwight sleeping five feet away from her. She felt awkward staring at him while he slept but he looked somewhat peaceful. Even with his frequent smiles on his face._

_She managed to look away and observed past the counter and saw there was an office space. She crawled over as quietly as she could. She was almost there as her hands grazed something on the floor. She looked down and saw bolts for crossbows. There were more than just a small amount._

"_Dwight!" She said in an excited whisper. He promptly sat up and blinked the sleep away as he grabbed for his crossbow._

"_What happened?" He said as he sat with one knee and one foot on the ground ready for action. He looked around for her and saw her further into the store and crawled her direction._

_She pointed to the bolts. "Will these work for your crossbow?"_

_He glanced at where she was pointing and his eyes widened. "Holy shit. Jackpot." He crawled over and started picking each individual one up and sizing it up for good measure. With every bolt that worked with his crossbow his smile got wider and wider. _

"_This is Christmas day for me." He said with the last bolt he saw on the ground._

"_How many would that be for you?" She asked._

"_That is twenty-two more bolts to add to my five." He smiled. "Good thing I brought a bag that will fit all of these babies."_

_Sherry looked around the store a bit more. "There's probably a ladder to the roof around here somewhere."_

_He eyed her questioningly. "Uh-oh. What are you thinking?"_

_She shrugged. "All those walkers that we saw yesterday can't all still be around. There might have been a couple that lingered and we can handle those ones. Particularly you with your crossbow. I don't want to draw attention with my gun."_

_He gazed at all his new bolts and sighed. "I guess it's about time to head out." He glanced at her sternly. "But if we see more than twenty, we stay put."_

"_Pshaw. Pansy." Sherry said as she crouched to look out the window without being too obvious._

_He chuckled and crouched right next to her. They didn't even see a single walker outside. That was a promising sign._

_They got closer to the window and two walkers came into view. "Nothing to worry about yet. We could take those motherfuckers."_

"_Okay, Lt. Ripley." Dwight said. Sherry grinned at the complimenting comparison. It didn't sound bad to her at all._

_They stood at the door quietly and looked at each other. "There is probably a ladder to the roof at the back of the building. Once we open this door, we book it. Got it?"_

_Dwight nodded. "Going to the back from the right of the building."_

_Sherry nodded her consent. "Roger that." She grabbed the door knob. "One – two – three!" _

_She opened the door and they both ran to the right of the building with knives unsheathed. In the alley next to the store, they saw five walkers that immediately started growling at their presence._

"_I'll get the ones on the left side." Dwight said._

"_Right." Sherry said as she approached the first walker on that side. She raised her leg to the walker's chest and pushed it back with all her might so it ran into the walker behind it, sending both of them to the ground. She walked towards them as they tried to awkwardly get back on their feet. While heading towards them she stabbed one of Dwight's walkers in the head without skipping a beat and continued walking in their direction. The walker that she kicked was the first to stand up and before it could react, she stabbed the top of its head. The other walker tried but failed to get up and Sherry pushed it back to the ground so it lied on its stomach. She stabbed the back of its head five times repeatedly._

_She breathed a sigh of relief and blew out the adrenaline that surged through her body. She turned to see Dwight slicing the throat of his walker but she noticed its head was already stabbed. They nodded and headed towards the ladder which was now in sight._

_Sherry scaled the ladder first with Dwight on her tail. They reached the top of the roof without any problems. They looked at the sight on top of the store. There was a man that committed suicide with a gun. There were more bolts around him and a crossbow. He looked like he had been dead since the whole outbreak started._

"_So this is the guy who made my day brighter." Dwight said quietly. He stooped down to pick up the bolts on the roof floor. "Rest in peace, man." He said to the man._

_With that, Dwight had a total of thirty five bolts. Sherry smiled at his never ending ammo and briefly thought about taking up the crossbow for that convenience. But instantly thought better of it for it would take too long to practice. She admired anyone who took up the crossbow after the apocalypse knowing it could have probably required a lot of patience but knew she didn't have a patient bone in her body._

_Several walkers heard their commotion in the alley but hadn't spotted them yet on the roof. They laid low for several minutes until they heard their moans calm down and looked up to observe. Once again, the walkers started meandering to no particular spot._

_She smiled. "Alright. Let's see how good you really are with that thing."_

_He smiled back at her and winked. "We'll be out of here in fifteen minutes. Start the countdown." He took aim at his first victim that was on the other side of the street. He took two breaths and pulled the trigger. He hit the walker on the forehead and it fell lifeless to the ground. She smiled widely as he picked up another bolt and reloaded his crossbow._

_She looked around and saw about twenty more walkers around. She smiled at the likelihood that they would be dead within the near future._

_He kept with the same routine for the next ten walkers until he missed one walker's head by a hair._

_Sherry feigned a disgraced look on her face. "Phew. You lost the winning streak."_

_He loaded and aimed at the same walker who was currently confused at what just flew around his head. He took one last look in his scope and looked over to Sherry and smiled as he pulled the trigger. The walker went down dead._

"_Good recovery by showing off." Sherry said as she silently clapped her hands._

_More zombies fell to the ground until there was only one left. This one was the furthest of the bunch and reached about eighty yards away._

"_Think you can do this one?" Sherry asked._

"_Nope." He shrugged. "But I'll try my best." He aimed and watched the biter for a little bit. Sweat beaded down his forehead. He sighed and put his crossbow down. "Fuck it. If this is the only one left, I'll just move closer."_

_They got off the roof and walked closer to it. Once Dwight was sixty yards away, he took aim and shot at it. It fell without a sound. "Well the best part about bolts? You get to collect each and every single one."_

_They split up and yanked every bolt from the head of every walker. Dwight got the bolt that missed the one walker and then they put them in his bag._

_Sherry and Dwight headed out from the direction they came from. The supply run was unfruitful in some ways but they got a lot out of it. Plus, their group had enough food to survive for several more weeks. They weren't in immediate danger. _

_Sherry now considered Dwight as a friend from this trip. Despite the world looking somewhat dismal, she was glad to know she had someone that she could count on._

_And that made everything seem right in the world._

…

Yolanda and Sherry were just finishing up dinner and were cleaning the dishes.

"I'm going to head out soon, honey." Yolanda said. "I can trust you to tuck yourself into bed, right?" She said somewhat sarcastically.

She nodded. "I'll stay in bed but I won't handcuff myself."

"As always, there are guards at the front door. So be careful."

"I'll lock the door to my room."

They finished dishes and walked upstairs. Yolanda changed the bandages on Sherry's forehead and smiled sadly. "I regret ever saying that we were okay living here. Please forgive me."

Sherry smiled softly. "You're a mom. You were only doing your best to protect what's yours."

Yolanda still looked unconvinced. "That is still no excuse. Do you have any new plans?" She asked.

"There is a building by the courthouse that is completely empty. I am going to stash everything we can use as a weapon underneath the floorboards. When we actually make the escape, we'll use those weapons to defend ourselves if things go awry." She shrugged. "It's not much of a plan yet but it's something."

Yolanda nodded. "If you need any help, let me know."

Sherry reached to hug her. "Of course. Thanks for being a big help to me. I don't know what I would do without you."

They embraced for a while longer and Yolanda walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. Sherry turned off the lights and saw underneath the doorway that Yolanda was turning off the lights as she walked out of the front door. Sherry locked her bedroom door and sat on her bed.

"I was surprised that you came to see me so early." Sherry whispered and looked towards the closet. The closet door slowly slid open as Dwight emerged from it and sat next to her. His moves were heavy as he moved closer to her. She could tell something was wrong. "Sorry I had to keep you waiting."

"I just couldn't wait at my house until you were available. Plus, me sneaking into the house before Yolanda was gone was less suspicious to the guards. They didn't even see me." His voice was distant. Sherry knew that he was thinking of something else as he said those words.

"Dwight. What happened?" She asked.

He looked at her and lightly traced her face. She winced when he touched the part of her face that were sore from her fight with Negan but let him continue with his movements regardless. He sighed deeply. "There isn't an easy way to say it."

"Then just say it, Dwight." She said as she reached for his hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

He held her hand tightly as he looked around the room unsure of where to start.

"Negan made me do something on the supply run today. He taxes this place called Hilltop for additional protection to their town. He thought the supplies were low this time around and…" He broke off trying to think of the next thing to say.

Sherry had a sinking feeling that she felt in her stomach. "Dwight?"

He looked to her. "I had to. He threatened to kill Jason if I didn't do his dirty work." He sighed again. "Sherry, I killed an innocent man today."

Sherry let out a sharp breath. She couldn't believe what she just heard but yet it seemed to be Negan's character to threaten others so things could be done his way. She just couldn't believe it. "Dwight. I'm so sorry." She said as she hugged him. He hugged her back tightly and didn't let go. He needed this. He felt he didn't deserve it but couldn't help himself from her sweetness towards him.

Sherry let go of him and stared at him intently. "We need to get out of here."

Dwight nodded and held her hand to his chest. "Sher. If we stay, he's going to have me do that again on every supply run I attend with him. He can have me do anything he wants me to because he knows I'll do it. I have too much to lose if I refuse." He looked deeply into her eyes and didn't break eye contact.

"I'm so sorry, Dwight." Sherry said. "I have somewhat of a plan so perhaps we could deliver it while he's gone. I'll just speed the process. Our group could take his men on while he's gone."

Dwight gave her a doubtful look. "He has hundreds of men that are still here and that are still loyal to him."

"Then we will only take out the several that are near the library. I know you can take them out."

Dwight winced. "The sad thing is that if you asked me yesterday about killing those guys, I would have said no. Now I think I wouldn't even lose a day's sleep over it."

"Tell me about the man you killed." Sherry said.

He shook his head. "I don't even want to think about him right now."

"What if I said it helped? To think of him as a human being?" Sherry laid down on the bed and patted the space next to her. He laid down right next to her and held her tightly. "You need to tell yourself that you didn't kill him. Negan did. It was out of your control. You were just a pawn."

He sighed and they stayed silent for what seemed like hours. Sherry nearly drifted off to sleep until Dwight spoke up. "He had light brown hair. He kept it trimmed unlike most people. He didn't even have facial hair. He was young. He was probably nineteen or twenty. He had a mother." He sighed again. "That's all I really know."

"Does he have a name?"

_Drew, _Dwight thought. "No." He lied.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note – This is the halfway mark for Book 1. I have plans to continue with a sequel. When I first started writing this fanfiction I planned on it being a series. Mainly because this series is based off the comics & eventually my characters will run into the characters that we love on the TV show…And I am part of the Denial-Land group because Beth will be alive in my series and if you disagree…too bad. Also, when I say the halfway mark, I mean that Walking Dead episodes tend to have sixteen episodes in every season (or series if your country calls them series instead of seasons). I'm going to fashion my books to be the same. Every chapter will be an "episode." So the last chapter was a midseason finale of sorts (despite no one dying in that one). **

**Book 2 will be called "Nothing Else Matters." So as long as you follow me as an author, I believe you will be notified when that book comes out. So when "Many Hearts to Tread" is finished, be on the lookout!**

**Also, if you guys like a chapter, feel free to leave a review! I love reading feedback and the ones who have left a review, I have always replied back. Except for the guest reviewers ****. I wish I could write you guys back but I appreciate your input. And for some reason, reviews let me write the next chapter faster!**

**I have a fellow fanfiction friend that writes awesome Bethyl stories if anyone is interested. She has been my inspiration for me writing fanfiction. Her name is ****apenny12**** and if you love Dwight, she is currently writing about Alexandria Safe-Zone where Dwight and Daryl are speaking to one another on friendly terms. Almost had a nerd freakout when I read that myself. **

**Also, I have to thank my favorite person in the world for supporting me and reading this fanfiction and that would be my best friend. She is amazing.**

**Onward to Chapter 9!**

Chapter 9

It was early in the morning at Sanctuary. Dwight left with a kiss on her forehead and snuck out of the back door. It was an easy sneak out because the guards at the front door were fast asleep. Yolanda came fifteen minutes later and they ate breakfast. Sherry then asked if she could go on a morning walk around Sanctuary. Yolanda smiled and said that she didn't even have to ask and she was on her way.

Sherry held one of her library books in her hand as she walked to the new schoolhouse. When she arrived, she saw the children studying math. There were twelve children of all ages. Jenna looked up and saw Sherry approaching and Sherry waved in her direction with a smile.

Sherry went to the bookcase that she took the book from last time she was yet she didn't replace it with another. Rather she pretended to get another book to look unsuspicious at the guards that were at the schoolhouse door. She took the book she walked in with and walked back out. The guards smiled in her direction and they smiled at her as well. She heard a brief cat call when she walked further away but didn't say anything about it.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the front gates. She looked over to see Haruki & Takuya fighting. All the men on the roofs of buildings that were around the gates immaturely yelled "fight, fight, fight" over and over again. She rolled her eyes but noticed the man that was on the building next to the schoolhouse wasn't watching her anymore and watched the fight. She used the cover of the library to crawl into the shrubbery behind the school building to not be noticed by the other building on the other side of it. She crawled with her book towards the gate. The gate snarled at her presence but once she got closer she just sat there and opened her book. Inside the pages, she cut pages to fit a kitchen knife that she stole from breakfast this morning. She would bring it back if Negan became suspicious of it missing. But fortunately, he wasn't there.

She remembered telling Dwight this morning to have Jason and Takuya stage a fight for five minutes so she didn't have much time. She wondered why it was Jason and Takuya rather than Haruki and Takuya like she originally planned Dwight to ask. Maybe Haruki was held up elsewhere, she assumed to herself. She took the knife and started stabbing at the walker heads in a four foot radius. Once they were killed, she noticed the diamond shaped fence that they were attached to. She touched the metal between two walker heads and looked beyond the gates at freedom. She sighed and smiled. They were close to escape.

…

She brought the knife back out of the book and cleaned it in the sink at Negan's home. Yolanda saw the knife but didn't say a word. She knew Sherry was up to something.

Sherry looked towards Yolanda who leaned on the fridge. She saw the look on her face that she wanted to ask more questions but refrained. Sherry smiled at her. "What do you want to know?"

"Did you kill anyone?" Yolanda finally asked.

Sherry laughed slightly. "If I did, would you be mad at me?"

Yolanda thought about it. "No."

"Luckily, it didn't have to come to that. I just made some improvements to the gate next to the schoolhouse." Sherry said as she placed the knife back in the knife holder on the kitchen counter.

Yolanda smiled. "I figured Jason & Takuya's fight was a little out of place."

Sherry gazed around the house and thought of her next step. "We need to have a meeting with our group tonight. Make some plans on how to execute our escape flawlessly. Everyone needs to be involved. Just say that you left me alone to the guards outside because I am taking a nap and let everyone know that this meeting is going down tonight. We don't have much time until Negan gets back from his run."

…

_They were at the mansion for two wonderful months with very few cares. Dwight and Sherry went on more supply runs for the group and lucked out with what they found. Dwight and Jason also hunted which always lifted the spirits of everyone in the group. They never went hungry for that entire time. The children had fun. Terri had time to mourn her two children. Haruki proved to be valuable with his fishing skills when they noticed that the pond had fish in it. Everyone got along._

_There was also a never ending supply of board games at the house that provided them entertainment._

_Every time Sherry and Dwight went on a run they tried to bring back a new car with them. They wanted to believe they could stay at the mansion forever but knew that preparing for the worst was never a bad thing as they fixed the cars and loaded them all with supplies on the go._

_They went over escape plans for their group to follow if things went south fast and a place to meet if they got separated. After a month of being there, they almost forgot what it felt like to run for their lives anymore._

_Until one fateful day where everything changed._

"_HELP! Somebody help me!" They heard someone call near the gate while they all ate breakfast outside on the patio. They all stared in the direction that the call came from._

_Sherry stood up. "Yolanda. Hannah. Get the kids in the car. We are going to follow our drill like it's the real deal, okay?"_

_The kids stood up and ran to their designated car which was the van. Dwight nodded to Terri and she went into the house to get her medical supplies. The rest of them ran to the shed and got any extra weapons to use on top of the ones that they always kept with them._

"_PLEASE HELP ME!" A man continued to yell while they ran towards the gate as quietly as they could. They have since kept the gate locked for this reason. Not that they didn't want to accept new strangers. Sherry just didn't want the wrong strangers in their paradise._

_Terri met up with them on their run to the gate with her supplies. They could now see the guy and they all felt dread fill their hearts with the image that was ahead of them. The man was surrounded by many walkers because of his screaming for help. There were hundreds. Too many to make them feel comfortable about the situation that befell them._

"_Shit!" Jason exclaimed as he loaded his assault rifle while in mid stride._

_The man saw them and became hysterical. "Thank God! Please help me! Please!" The walkers were now a fifty feet away from him as they got to the gate._

"_Trying to get all the rotters in here too?" Dwight said angrily. It almost took Sherry back with how mad he sounded. She never heard him mad before._

_Haruki started fidgeting the lock. Once the lock was undone, they had to unwrap the chain in between the two gate doors. Sherry helped Haruki as they quickly worked to get an opening for the man. The walkers were now thirty feet away._

_The chain was heavy and long. Sherry was glad that they were thorough when they first put it up but became upset that it was taking so long to unravel in a time where time was of the essence. The walkers were twenty feet away._

"_Please hurry!" The man screamed. Jason growled and raised his gun. The man screamed in terror as he fired the gun but not towards him but towards the walkers. Dwight also raised his crossbow and started firing as well. The rest followed suit as Haruki and Sherry worked tirelessly to make an opening._

_There was a small opening and the man began to squeeze his way through. They still needed to unwrap the chain a little bit more but the man's movements made it a little more difficult with the gate moving rapidly as he panicked. _

"_Dammit! Hold still!" Sherry yelled at him._

"_I just need to get in there!" The man said frantically. Several walkers were coming his direction as there was only a few feet left between him and walkers. Dwight threw his crossbow down and held his gun up as it made it easier to load bullets._

"_Sherry!" Dwight yelled at her._

"_I know! I'm trying!" Sherry barked back. She looked towards the man as he started yelling in agony and saw that a walker had got his shoulder. She now looked at the gate as the walkers pushed against it. She sighed. "Fuck!" She yelled angrily and shot the man with her pistol in the head as a mercy kill. He slumped down as the walkers feasted on his body._

_They all looked towards her as she tried to get the chain back on the fence without getting bit by the walkers. They continued to shoot the walkers who were standing in her way but then they started pushing towards the gate. The opening got bigger as they pushed against Sherry's strength. "No!" She yelled defeated._

"_Fall back!" Dwight ordered as he picked up his crossbow. "This isn't a drill anymore, we need to get out of here!"_

"_No! We can still try to defend it!" Sherry said sadly. She already knew it was pointless._

_Dwight didn't respond and instead grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the gate. It didn't take the walkers long to push the gate wide open and were on Dwight and Sherry's tail. They ran as fast as they could towards the cars. All of their belongings that they were attached to were already in the cars as part of their emergency escape just in case they didn't have time to get their things in the house. Which proved to be a good idea because they now didn't have time to get their stuff. Dwight guided her towards the Jeep that was in front of all the cars and put her in the passenger seat as he climbed to the other side to be in the driver's seat. He turned on the ignition and stuck his head outside the window._

"_Everyone follow my car! We need to get the walkers away from the gate so we can pass!" He shouted in their direction. They nodded and he started driving as the walkers descended upon the mansion and their cars. He turned right onto the grass and the walkers followed. All of the walkers were now within the mansion gates so the gates became clear as the walkers chased their cars around the grass. Dwight then drove towards the gate and ran over what was left of the man that brought the biters upon them._

_Sherry turned around and saw all of the cars behind them and they made it out safely. She sighed and faced the front as they drove in silence for a while._

_Dwight hit the steering wheel and made Sherry jump. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"_

_Sherry got a little teary eyed as she thought of everything that they just lost. They lost a shelter that was a safe place for the children to play and learn like they did before this all happened. They didn't have to watch their backs while they skinned a dear. They could eat on the patio without worrying for their lives. They forgot what it felt like to feel vulnerable in this hell hole. For once, it felt like what life was like before._

_She didn't know what to say to angry Dwight sitting next to her so instead she put her hand on his shoulder in comfort. Words tried to escape her mouth but the words couldn't leave past the lump forming in her throat. Tears erupted beyond her control as she silently wept for their paradise being gone._

_Dwight didn't say anything but replied back to her hand on his shoulder by placing on of his hands on top of it. He stroked the top of her hand with his thumb and continued to look out the window. She knew that he didn't want to show emotion but could tell he was just as beaten up about their current predicament as she was._

_Every car had a full tank so Dwight led the way north for as far as they could all go. None of them had a destination in mind. All of them just wanted to get away from the mansion and forget their happy memories._

"_Was it hard?" Dwight asked after a couple of hours of shared silence between them._

_She looked to him confused. "Hm?"_

"_When you killed that guy that ruined everything for us?"_

_She thought about it but knew out of all the people that they knew in their group that Dwight would understand the most. "The truth? It wasn't a difficult decision at all. I mean, sure it was a mercy kill. He was already bit. But I could already see the walkers push their weight on the gate. I just had this sinking feeling even before we arrived at the gate to help him that we wouldn't be coming back to the house. While I was unwrapping the chain, I was angry with him. He was unknowingly jeopardizing everything we made. So when the walker took a bite out of him, I was more than happy to take care of him." She put her hand up to her head. She couldn't believe what was coming from her mouth. "I feel nothing. I feel no guilt for doing what he did. And yet, it was the reason that bothers me. There was nothing that Terri could have done for him at that point but that wasn't the reason why I shot him. It wasn't out of mercy. It was out of anger. Yet I still don't feel guilty for what I did."_

_Dwight twiddled his thumbs that rested on the steering wheel, deep in thought. "I get it. Some part of me wants to see reason and I know the guy wasn't purposefully trying to take away our home from us. He was probably scared for his life. But my reasoning doesn't let me see past him being stupid and he made a move that ended his life." Dwight shrugged._

_Sherry was starting to get a headache from thinking too much about it. The more she thought about it, the more complicated it felt. She still couldn't fully comprehend how great of a loss that it was to lose the mansion. When she thought about it, she only felt bitter devastation._

"_Are you okay driving for a little bit longer?" She asked Dwight._

_He nodded. "Getting tired?" He asked._

"_Yeah. I just want to get my mind off of everything for a little bit."_

"_Take your time, Sherry." He gave her a weak smile but looked into her eyes. "If you need anything, let me know."_

_She gave an even weaker smile back. "Thanks, Dwight." And with that, she pushed the seat down and fell asleep sooner than she thought she would have. Her mom always told her that a good rest came a clear mind. She didn't doubt that. She knew she needed it. She just hoped she received it when she woke up._

…

They walked over to Yolanda, Dean, Jenna & Dwight's shared residence. Everyone was told about the meeting. Sherry continued to look around Sanctuary to see if their meeting raised suspicion but it seemed the men with guns would be more concerned if they were escaping. To them it only looked like a fun gathering that they weren't invited to.

Yolanda and Sherry stepped into the house where everyone already was. Terri saw Sherry and immediately came to give her a hug. Yolanda went to draw the curtains in the living room as Jenna helped. Dean gave Sherry a light hug followed by Jason's bear hug. Teegan and Troy immediately followed their dad's example and all but tackled Sherry. They had only been to Sanctuary for two weeks. Sherry thought about the timeline. _Have we really only been here for that short of time?_

The last hug went to Dwight who gave her a long hug with a kiss on her temple. They were among friends now with the curtains obscuring them from Sanctuary. They had nothing to hide in here. Dwight held her hand and guided her to the couch as everyone talked amongst themselves in small talk.

Sherry just watched everyone enjoying each other's company. It almost seemed natural for their group to adjust to terrible circumstances. Sherry wondered how they were all being treated. She hoped that they were being treated well and that Negan didn't go against his word. He promised her that they would be taken care of.

Dwight put his arm over her shoulders as Sherry leaned into him. Out of all the people in the group, they looked the most exhausted. Emotionally and physically, Sherry didn't know how they could handle another day. She looked forward to what they were going to speak about in the meeting to get some progress.

Dwight smiled at her and cleared his throat. "Alright, you guys. The meeting is now in session. This meeting is to go over things that we need in order to escape so once the day comes, it will be fool proof."

Jason raised his voice. "And when do you expect that day will come?"

"Before Negan gets back from wherever he is." Dwight confirmed.

Everyone looked around at each other in shock. They knew the plan was underway but they didn't know they were leaving so soon.

"First thing is first." Sherry said. "Does anyone have access to a wire cutter?"

Dean stood up. "Negan has me in charge of doing inventory for the supply building. They have an assortment of wire cutters. They won't even know one is missing. Besides no one is going to double check my work until Negan gets back. Besides guarding the border, no one really does their job when he's gone."

"We'll leave at nighttime and use that to our advantage." Sherry said. "We need to take out the guards from the buildings next to the schoolhouse. Does anyone know how many men are on those roofs at that time?"

"One for each building at night." Takuya said. "Lucky for you, we only have to worry about one building."

"Why's that?" Sherry asked.

"I'm in charge of the building left to the schoolhouse at night." Takuya answered

"Who's in charge of the other building?" She inquired.

"Alex." Dwight said. "He'll be easy to take care of."

"Dean. There is a building next to the court house that is completely empty. Do you know what I'm talking about?" Sherry asked.

He nodded.

Sherry continued. "The room that is on the second floor. Completely empty. In the furthest corner from the entrance, there is a floor board that you can stash stuff. Whatever can be useful to defend ourselves once we are out of sight, we need it. So whatever you collect, put it there."

"Who is allowed to have weapons and it will be easy to carry one wherever you go in Sanctuary?"

Pretty much all the men raised their hands while the women notably kept their hands down.

"Sexist bastard." Sherry commented.

"Dean. Get some small pistols for the women and children."

"I can get my medical bag without anyone questioning it." Terri added. "It might take us awhile to accumulate all that we need for our trip but we can find what we need to get back on the road."

Sherry nodded. "The important thing is weapons for our first night out. We'll be running for most of the night."

Haruki shook his head. "I still don't know why we need to leave so soon."

"Haruki-" Takuya scolded.

"It's not that bad here." Haruki defended.

Dwight leaned forward and covered his mouth. Sherry knew he did this whenever he was thinking of what to say next or when he was thinking. This time she knew he didn't want to explode. She knew Dwight. When the outbreak first began he was thoughtful towards the people around him in his group. That Dwight was slipping away to someone who wanted things a certain way to benefit everyone. Usually, no one stood in his way. They didn't have a reason to fight Dwight's tactics. But Haruki was pushing his buttons.

"What the fuck, man?" Dwight said staring him down. "It's not that bad here? We've already been over this. What has changed your mind since the last meeting?"

Haruki shrugged. "I am valuable here. Negan has me in charge of some things."

"Like what kind of things?" Sherry snapped. "Don't be vague on us."

Haruki shuffled his feet. "It isn't your business."

"Son of a bitch, Haruki." Jason quietly said shaking his head as Dwight stood up and walked over to Haruki.

Dwight towered over Haruki's short height. He fidgeted in place. "So help me. If you cause us any trouble, I will kill you." Sherry stood up and went over to Dwight to push him away from Haruki. Takuya also came to Haruki's defense and stood next to him but did not stand in Dwight's way.

"Please, Dwight. Stop." Sherry said quietly to calm him down.

Suddenly Dwight grabbed her in a rough manner and held her in front of Haruki.

"Dwight. Stop!" Sherry said. She didn't want to yell to have anyone check on their meeting.

"Look at her face!" Dwight said. "It's not that bad, huh?" Sherry's body couldn't relax. She knew Dwight wouldn't hurt her but she couldn't stop her heart from racing. She never saw Dwight this stirred up before. And it frightened her.

He let go of her gently and got back in Haruki's face. "And you were there yesterday. You saw what Negan made me do."

Haruki stood unfazed at the scene in front of him. "I saw what you did. Not what Negan made you do."

Dwight held his lips in a tight line. He walked several feet away and then looked back to Haruki. "I don't want him at these meetings anymore. Anyone else agree?"

Everyone stood there silently and looked at Dwight to Haruki. "He's out." Jason said. "I speak for my family. He's out." Terri gave Jason a smile that everyone could interpret as agreement.

Everyone slowly nodded their mutual feelings to Dwight. Dwight only now looked to Takuya who stood silently. Even though Haruki and Takuya were not related, they were good friends before the apocalypse even began. Dwight and the rest of the group could say what they would about Haruki but they all knew that it was Takuya's call.

Takuya finally spoke up after pondering what to say. "If you don't mind, Dwight. I would like to personally escort him out of the house."

Jason started giving Takuya the slow clap as he escorted Haruki away. But when nobody followed his lead he stopped and realized that a slow clap just wasn't the time and place.

Dwight walked over to Haruki as stood by the doorway. "You will say nothing to Negan or his men. If you have such a nice job with the guy then you don't have to worry about saving your own ass." With that, he slammed the door in Haruki's face.

Dwight slowly shuffled back into the living room. All eyes were on him as he again put his hand over his mouth and looked at the floor beneath him.

"How about a break and we'll talk again in thirty minutes?" Sherry suggested. "Everyone needs to take a breather. We have a lot to talk about."

With that, Sherry took Dwight's hand and they walked upstairs. She looked at the bedrooms and concluded which one was Dwight's as it had his crossbow in it. She led him in the room and closed the door behind them.

Dwight began apologizing the second that the door closed. "Sherry. I am so sorry I touched you like that. It was unnecessary-" Dwight started but Sherry shut him up by going on her tip toes to kiss him tenderly. He immediately wrapped his arms around her back and kissed her back.

A couple of seconds passed and he broke away. "But seriously, I am sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You were only trying to prove a point. There is nothing to forgive."

He traced the marks on her face from Negan. "That's not the point. I forced you to do something and you said to stop." He looked her in the eyes. "I will never force your hand like that again."

She smiled. "Dwight. You are being too hard on yourself." She kissed him again. "I promise that I don't hold anything against you." She touched his beard and guided his forehead to hers. "I promise."

He took her in his arms and held her tightly as he kissed her deeply. She began having tingles all over her body with the adrenaline he gave her from the kiss.

They continued to make out for a period of time and Dwight eventually led her to his bed and settled above her body. He continued to kiss her as his hand held her hip bone and his fingers grazed her backside.

She kissed him and slowed the kiss when she considered a thirty minute break up. Once their kiss slowed to a stop she gave him a light peck on the lips again and shimmied away from underneath him. "We should fix ourselves up before we go back down there. We don't want to make it too obvious what we just did."

He got into a sitting position and crossed his legs. He breathed a little bit. "Yeah. Just give me a minute."

She winked in his direction and found a mirror pursed her lips together. _At least I'm not wearing lipstick, _she thought.

She looked back at him and he winked back at her. "Oh, you know how to make a girl swoon." She said.

"All you have to do is look at me and I'll hang on your every word." Dwight said confidently.

She smiled. "Ready yet?" She teased.

He sighed and stood up. He looked down at his pants. "Yeah. I'm ready."

She rolled her eyes and they headed back downstairs hand in hand.

…

They all sat in the living room again. They had discussed what they needed to so everything was in order. They decided to leave in two days' time.

"Everyone knows what their job is?" Dwight asked.

They all nodded silently. Even the children nodded. Sherry hated to rely on them for their plan but they had no choice. They needed everyone to take part in something for this to go flawlessly.

_This is it, _Sherry thought. _We are finally leaving._


End file.
